


Camomile

by Grumpykawa



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, F/F, First Time, Idk how to properly tag smut, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Mentionings of German traffic jams on the Autobahn like constantly, Mentions of Teen Pregnancy, More tags will be added later, Past Pearl/Rose Quartz (Steven Universe), Skippable Smut, might be mature later, normal use of alcohol, there's sex but it's optional is the point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2019-11-08 04:42:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17974706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grumpykawa/pseuds/Grumpykawa
Summary: Jasper is a young woman from England, now living in Germany and working in a small flowery. She meets Pearl; who ran away from her home in  Russia, and the two fall in love.





	1. Spring

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NintenCat98](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NintenCat98/gifts).



 

 

  The sun was shining down on the small floral shop on the main street, lighting the buds of the flowers, making them glow in shining colours. Spring had come very sudden after a cold and humid winter, and now the world was gleaming with colour once again.

  Business was good in these times, and many people were walking into the shop, the small bell at the entrance ringing every time the door opened.

  They left with bundles of flowers, carefully put together and orderly tied with a small ribbon. Some people stopped by the pots out front, preferring a more long-lasting present or decoration for their garden.

  Some people, who lived in the area, stopped by to take a chat with the vendor, a bulky man with slicked back blonde hair and muscular shoulders, someone not expected to work in a flowery. Nonetheless, he did his job well, watering the pots in the front and making the customers happy, whistling while taking care of the flowers.

  Newcomers or tourists were often intimidated by him, but after he started talking about his passion for gardening and plants, they often warmed up to him even though he always kept a very serious face.

  Inside, another bulky figure was standing at the counter, selling flowers just like the man outside. Jasper had turned 21 just a few weeks ago and ever since she moved to Germany, she had worked at the flowery. Her long, silver-blonde hair was draped over one shoulder as she tied another bouquet of flowers; extreme care with her strong hands.

  She never had thought of taking on working at a flowery when she left England, considering she never had gardened before, but over the two years she had been living in Germany now, the job had grown on her and the happy faces of the customers when they left with gifts for their loved ones always filled her with glee.

  The door rang and the huge woman looked up, her hazelnut eyes focusing on the door as a new customer entered the little shop. The stranger was pale and frail and her short, strawberry blonde hair bobbed up and down as she made her way inside the flowery, bowing down slightly to take a better look at the flowers.

  Jasper was about to ask her if she needed any help with picking out a bouquet, but the young woman already had left the flowery. a few minutes later, her boss shoved himself through the entrance and walked over to the counter.

    “How’s it going, Ludwig?”, The tanned woman asked, her voice low and slightly raspy. The man shook his head and leaned over the counter whispering to Jasper.

    “There was a black van outside and two people came from out of it. They seemed to have been searching for someone or something. I just wanted to ask if anything suspicious happened in here,” he muttered lowly but still calm as ever. At least that would be what other people would have thought, but Jasper knew the German long enough to know when he was concerned.

    “Not really. I mean someone came in without buying anything and left a bit ago, but that isn’t too suspicious is it?”, she answered, quite unsure and confused and Ludwig just looked around, seemingly thinking.

    “It’s fine… Whatever that was, it didn’t seem like it had anything to do with us. They probably just needed to pick someone up or something”, he muttered quietly and Jasper wasn’t sure whether he was trying to assure her or himself. “Anyways, I’ll go back outside and take care of the customers, if anything happens, talk to me.”

  With that, he left the muscular woman behind in the shop, confused and slightly unnerved.

 

* * *

 

 

  The clock struck 18:00 and Jasper was getting ready to close up the shop with Ludwig. She carried the pots inside to keep them secure through the night, making sure none of them disappeared, as if anyone was going to steal flowers of all things.

  After her job was done she got a pat on the back and started heading to the grocery store to pick up some food for the night. She picked up some noodles and ready-made cream sauce. She never had been a fan of dry food.

  After paying for her shopping, she started heading home. She was about to climb into her car when she heard a soft sobbing come from behind the pub she had parked near. Jasper frowned and slowly approached the corner where the sobbing originated from. She wasn’t to ignore someone in need of help.

  She dropped off her groceries in the car and wandered around the trash containers, her eyes quickly getting used to the darkness of the corner, barely any light shining from the street lanterns. Slumped against the wall she could make out a small shivering figure, curled up and next to a liquor bottle.

  She was softly whispering while rocking back in forth gently, clinging onto her legs, her face buried in her knees. After taking a closer look she noticed who the person was, sunken in before her.

  It was the woman from earlier that day, the one that had left the shop without buying anything. Her clean, soft hair was ragged and her clothes stained and dirtied from sitting on the ground. Jasper knelt down in front of her, opening her mouth to speak.

    “Hey… what’s wrong?”, she asked softly, not wanting to scare the stranger. She wasn’t very successful as the woman’s head snapped up, her scared eyes staring into Jasper’s calm ones. They were like disturbed pools of waters, as tears streamed down the woman’s cheek like rivers.

  Jasper could feel worry building up inside her, ripping at her insides like a wolf, wondering what could have upset the young woman this much after she looked so cheery walking into the flowery earlier that day.

  The pale woman just curled back up, looking over the rim of her knees not breaking eye contact and Jasper could see the fear in her pupils. She smelled like alcohol and perfume and the huge woman looked around to see if there was anyone who had come to the pub with her that she could inform about the other woman's whereabouts. But there was no one nearby and the woman was all alone.

    “Is there anyone here with you or did you come here all alone?”, she decided to ask to be completely sure. The strawberry blonde haired woman stayed silent for a second, as if to try and understand what Jasper had just said, then she answered her voice weak and nervous, in slightly jumbled German.

    “N-no… I’m all alone…”, she muttered, her eyes glancing around, filled with a small panic as if she was being hunted by some wild beast. She then locked eyes back with Jasper, still fearful and shaking. “W-what do you want…”

  The large woman was taken a bit aback by that question, but she replied quickly as not to scare the stranger even more. “I heard you crying, so I got worried and wanted to see if you needed any help.”

    “W-why…”, the woman exhaled in confusion and exhaustion. “I-I’m fine.” But the streaks of tears told Jasper otherwise. She knew she shouldn’t pressure the stranger too much, but she also couldn’t just leave her crying behind a pub in the dead of the night when god knows who was walking around the neighbourhood.

    “Do you have somewhere to stay? I could walk you there, I don’t want anyone creeping up to you since this is kind of a bad neighbourhood,” Jasper explained to her, hoping that in her drunk state she was able to think at least somewhat clearly.

  The woman was thinking for a good minute, before shaking her head in response, almost losing her balance when she did and Jasper got concerned at how tired and frail she looked.

    “If you want you could stay at my place for the night, I could sleep on the couch.” The words left Jasper’s mouth without thinking and she immediately scolded herself for what she said because the younger woman seemingly grew a bit more fearful at this, curling back up.

    “H-Hey, if you don’t want I understand. I can go phone someone you know and ask if they can come and pick you up,” she said quickly, but the drunk woman just shook her head in despair.

    “No one… there’s no one I know here…” The words came out like a dying stream of water as she sobbed quietly. Jasper frowned in concern, trying to think of what to do when the woman looked back up at her.

    “P-please… if it’s no bother…”, she muttered, tears still in her unfocused eyes. She suddenly tried to stand up and she would’ve fallen back down, had Jasper not caught her at the last second, keeping her upright. “Help me…”

  The woman then fainted and fell against Jasper’s muscular body and she caught her with ease. The tanned woman checked her pulse quickly, to make sure she was okay until she heard soft snoring coming from the stranger and she sighed. How did she always managed to get herself into this kind of a mess?

  She let out another deep sigh and picked up the dainty woman who felt like a feather in her arms. She had completely passed out and Jasper didn’t know whether it was from the alcohol, the stress, the exhaustion or all three combined. She made her way to her small car and put the stranger on the back seat, making sure she was wearing a seatbelt.

  After a short drive, Jasper arrived at her small house half she had been living in for about a year now. Though it wasn’t too spacey, it was enough for the bulky woman. She exited her car and went to the backseat, picking up the unconscious stranger and carrying her into the building.

  She gently placed her in her own bed and made sure to pull a blanket over her, before she dimmed the lights and closed the door. She quickly prepared some dinner for herself and made sure to leave some behind in case the stranger got hungry. She should’ve asked for her name, Jasper thought to herself, but now it was too late and she would have to wait for the morning if the woman hadn’t left by then.

  Jasper sighed and wolfed down her noodles and afterwards, she made herself comfortable on the couch and fell into a deep slumber.


	2. Disheveled

  Jasper was awoken by a loud scream, jumping off the couch within seconds. She then charged into her bedroom, trying to figure out what happened. She was met with two sky blue eyes, staring at the huge woman in terror before the stranger let out a scared whimper, seemingly having lost her voice.

    “Y-you...why am I here… what is this…”, she muttered in confusion, her eyes darting around the bedroom and then back to the huge woman who was still standing in the doorway, perplexed.

  Jasper swallowed nervously and raised her hands in efforts to calm the stranger down, who was shaking in horror, her large eyes shining like plates as they filled with tears. She then quickly explained what happened last night, which seemed to calm down the frail woman.

    “Anyways… would you like some breakfast? You must be hungry after drinking yesterday…”, Jasper muttered offering while scratching the back of her head with one hand. “But if you would like to leave, that’d be fine too. I can drop you of where I picked you up…”

  But she was cut off by the young woman. “N-no… I would like some breakfast…”, she muttered, her voice gentle, but still rough from crying. She stood up with wobbly legs and Jasper had to catch her to prevent her from falling.

  She clung on the black sweatshirt the huge woman had been wearing, trying to get the strength in her legs back and when she did she looked up at Jasper, blushing furiously. Now that the small bit of makeup she had been wearing had come off, she could see small freckles appear on her cheeks.

    “Oh god… I-I’m so sorry!”

  It was when the stranger had spoken, Jasper noticed that she had been staring at her and her own face was just as flushed. She quickly composed herself and looked away in embarrassment. “It’s no bother”

  The two unacquainted women settled down at the small table in the kitchen, staying silent for a minute, while Jasper was making herself a bread slice with sausage. The two tried their best to avoid eye contact, staring at their plates, until the muscular woman cleared her throat.

    “So… what’s your name?” Jasper had never been too good at starting conversations, but she also was never good with sitting in an awkward silence. She looked up and her eyes met the strangers causing them both to blush a little.

    “My name is Pearl…”, she said, her voice soft like a melody and it made Jasper’s heart flutter slightly. “What’s yours?” She asked in return, her eyes settling on a small bread roll and seconds later she grabbed it and put it on her plate.

    “The name’s Jasper, nice to get to know you!”, Jasper answered, a soft smile on her face as she took a bite of her bread, observing Pearl, who was struggling with cutting the bread by herself. She let it be for the next few minutes, before growing a bit concerned at the young woman’s struggle.

    “Do you need some help?”, she asked, not wanting Pearl to saw into her own hand and she looked up at her blushing before she nodded sheepishly. Jasper took the bread and quickly cut it in half, handing the halves back to her guest. “Thank you…”

  The stranger proceeded to put some butter and strawberry jam on her bread and took a bite once she was done. The two stayed quiet, occasionally throwing shy glances at each other, before averting their eyes again.

    “So… what are you doing here?”, Jasper asked, trying to take away the tension that had build up in the kitchen. The young woman fidgeted with her bread and looked up at Jasper with her big eyes.

    “I… I moved here recently… I still haven’t found a place to stay at…”, she muttered quietly, moving nervously in her seat. Jasper quickly tried to change the subject, not wanting to make her even more uncomfortable.

    “I saw you at the flower shop earlier, but you left before I could ask if you needed any help.”

  Pearl looked up at her sheepishly, her right cheek puffed out as she chewed and Jasper could feel a small blush creep up on her face. She then swallowed down her food and replied. “I just wanted to look at the flowers… they were so pretty…”

    “If you want, we could pick you out a pot tomorrow, since it’s Sunday today,” Jasper explained a soft smile once again appearing on her face. “Unless you wanna continue moving.”

  Pearl suddenly looked very apprehensive, her eyes staring at her plate as she began fidgeting again, and Jasper was concerned at how fragile she looked as if she was gonna break into a million shards within the next second.

    “I… I wanted to ask… whether I could stay… j-just for a few days, if it isn’t a problem! It’s just, I don’t know where else to go right now and-”

    “It’s okay, you can stay for a bit until you found something yeah?”, the huge woman interrupted her, motioning her hand to calm the other one down and she could see how Pearl started to settle down again, at least as much as she could.

  Ever since she had woken up she seemed on edge, as if something was hunting her. From time to time, her eyes darted to the window, but she never saw whatever she was looking for, so she usually calmed down afterwards.

  Her strawberry blonde hair was still messy from the night before and her eyes had large bags under them, the concealer having washed off her face. Her pale skin was covered with soft freckles which shined in the morning sunlight. Her frame was petite and frail, though her legs and arms still seemed fairly muscular for her figure.

  It took her a minute to notice that Pearl had been eyeing her as well, her eyes wandering over her strong arms to her sweatshirt to her… Pearl quickly adjusted herself and made eye contact with Jasper, blushing furiously.

  The huge woman chuckled a bit before standing up and cleaning up the table, the other sitting there quietly, looking out the window. While Jasper was cleaning the plates, she kept throwing back glances at her, wondering what she was thinking about. She could feel her heart break slightly at the sad expression on the younger woman’s face.

    “So… where do you come from?”, she asked, trying to lighten the mood, but Pearl didn’t respond immediately, only after Jasper looked at her she woke up from her daydreaming.

    “S-sorry, I wasn’t listening…”

    “It’s fine, I just wanted to ask where you came from.”

  Once again Pearl fidgeted with her hands, before hugging her sides. “I… I’d rather not talk about that…” She looked at her apologetic, but Jasper just gave her a warm smile in return, which gave the young woman the courage to ask.

    “Have you been born here in Germany?”

  Jasper moved back to cleaning her plates, stacking them on the side neatly.

    “No, I’ve moved here from England about 2 years ago. But I’ve only had this flat for a year now, so I kinda was in the same spot as you when I first came here. I tried working at the gym where I met Ludwig and he helped me out with getting back on my legs and he let me chill at his. In return, I worked at the flowery part-time, but even after I got my own flat, I still stuck with that job since it was quite nice.”

  Pearl nodded and finally, Jasper spotted a small smile on her lips.

    “Would you like something to drink? A coffee or tea?”

    “A tea would be very nice…”

  With that, Jasper set up the teapot, warming up some water and then settling back down on the table. They sat in silence, once again, waiting for the water to boil. When they had their tea, Jasper was the first to speak up again.

    “You wanna maybe go for a walk or something? You look very tired and I feel like you need some fresh air…”

  Pearl nodded absentmindedly, still staring outside the window in silence.

 

* * *

 

 

  Jasper took her for a walk in the local park. The fresh air always helped her wake up in the morning and it was nice and sunny out. Pearl was trotting next to her, looking around the park, cautiously.

  She didn’t seem like one for words, Jasper thought to herself, but she was used to this kind of coldness. The people here in Germany never really were much to talk with, often times not even greeting back when you said hello to them. Not only that, but they tended to stare a lot when you walked by them on the sidewalk.

  It was normal, but the first time she had been very intimidated. It was only when she started to get to know Ludwig and his family when she understood that the people in this country tended to be very closed off, but very friendly once they warmed up to you.

  When she had met the man first at the gym, he had been stoic and cold, very calculated and no time for small talk. But once they became friends they started talking and she honestly couldn’t imagine a better friend than him.

  She looked down at Pearl, who, despite wearing a wind jacket and the sun shining, still seemed to be shivering and she couldn’t tell whether she was stressed or cold. Now that Jasper was looking at her in the natural light, she noticed that she looked quite sickly.

  She was about to ask what was wrong, when Pearl froze dead in her tracks, her eyes widening in fear as she spotted something. Without a word, she bolted back the way they came and Jasper yelped in surprise before rushing after her.

  She ran through the streets towards where Jasper had parked her car, and thank god she ran to the car because the huge woman didn’t know whether she could’ve kept up with her any longer.

  When they arrived at the car, Pearl desperately tried opening the locked back door and Jasper quickly unlocked it with her keys, seeing Pearl launch onto the backseat, slamming the door shut.

  Concern grew on Jasper’s face and she opened the door to ask the young woman what was wrong, but she just yelled at her in panic. “P-please drive back!”

  She took a second then she nodded, driving back to her flat and as soon as they arrived, Pearl bolted to the door, shaking like a leaf. Jasper hurried to unlock it and Pearl just ran inside and into the bedroom, which, when Jasper followed her, she seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

  It was only when she heard a small whimper coming from under the bed and when she kneeled down she could see Pearl staring back at her with wide eyes full of fear. Tears were forming at the corners of her eyes and she was shaking violently.

    “H-hey… what’s wrong…”, Jasper asked gently, but she didn’t get a response as the frail woman's eyes kept darting around the room as if someone was gonna burst into it at any second. The huge woman was very concerned, never had she seen someone this terrified and paranoid.

  She frowned at Pearl, before speaking up once again. 

    “Hey… calm down… everything is fine, no one’s here besides us…”

  This seemed to calm the frightened woman down and she came out from under the bed, now leaning against it, curled up and clinging onto her legs, the same way, Jasper had found her in the back of that pub. She then let out a sob, which caused Jasper to flinch.

    “I-i’m sorry… it’s just… them…”, she whimpered, clearly too mortified to move. “They want to take me h-home…” Jasper frowned once again, then she put a hand on Pearl’s shoulder, slow and gently.

    “It’s okay… Just calm down now, everything is okay, you’re safe here.” She gently rubbed her shoulder, which seemed to calm Pearl down significantly. “Take some deep breaths, in and out.”

  She followed her instructions, slowly calming down again. She stopped shaking and shivering and felt more at ease, synchronising her fast shallow breaths with Jasper’s deep and slow ones.

  Jasper could see Pearl’s eyes close, as she calmed down and her breathing levelled out again. Tears were still running down her cheeks and she looked up when a huge hand wiped them away, so unexpectedly gentle that Pearl held her breath.

  She only noticed she wasn’t breathing when she saw the concern on Jasper’s face. Pearl suddenly felt her limbs getting heavy as if the gravity of the earth had just gotten stronger and she closed her eyes, leaning against the strong woman.


	3. Scheinfrieden

  With a small shudder, Pearl awakened from her deep slumber, looking around slightly disoriented. Unlike yesterday she now felt warm and safe, the blanket of sleep still draped over her head. Large arms were holding her secure and she was leaned against a large, strong body, chest slowly rising with every breath.

  Pearl looked up only to meet Jasper’s face, eyes closed and snoring softly above her. She was leaning against the bed, she must’ve dozed off, once Pearl had fallen asleep. The smaller woman smiled softly, as she curled back up again, her breathing one with Jasper’s, their hearts beating at the same slow pace.

  After minutes of peaceful quiet, Jasper awakened, letting out a big yawn and when she looked down, their eyes met, causing both of them to blush. They stared at each other before hastily getting up.

    “Thank you…”, Pearl whispered quietly, looking at her feet in embarrassment. When she raised her head back up again, she was greeted by a warm smile and her heart lit up in an instant, a fuzzy feeling in her stomach.

    “Are you feeling better now?”, Jasper asked and Pearl was amazed at how soft her strong voice could be. “You looked pretty shaken up yesterday…”

    “Y-yeah… I’m doing better now”, she said quietly, avoiding eye contact with the huge woman standing in front of her. She knew she was gonna ask, she knew she wanted to know what frightened her this much, so Pearl already prepared for the worst.

    “What frightened you so much? You just suddenly ran off. Did anything happen?”, Jasper asked, trying to keep her voice low, but her concern made it very hard for her. She had only known this stranger for two days now, but she already felt responsible for her doing well.

    “I… It’s a long story…”, Pearl muttered, trying her best to avoid answering, but Jasper didn’t back out this time. If something was bothering Pearl she had to know, otherwise, she couldn’t take care of her. She stopped for a moment to think about this before answering.

    “We have a lot of time if you want we can talk about it Pearl.”

This was the first time she had addressed Pearl by her name, and she could see the small woman shudder a bit. Their eyes met for a second, then Pearl sighed and sat down on the bed, patting next to her. Jasper settled down and looked at Pearl who stayed silent for a good minute before finally speaking up.

    “Before I came here, I used to live in Russia. I was part of a stuck up family in Moscow, having never seen anything else. My parents always made sure I studied hard and I learned many languages and academics as a result. But things got… very stressful, because I… I wasn't like they wanted me to be. So I decided to run away and move here to Germany…”

  She stayed silent for another second, taking a breather, before continuing, her throat becoming tight with tears. “Now they send people after me to get me back… I am their only child, so I’m the one who will get their money after they die, but… they don’t want me to be… myself…”

  She looked up at the bulky woman, who had been listening, her brows furrowed and staring at the floor in front of her. She then sighed and set back up, looking at Pearl with her soft hazelnut eyes. She shivered under her gaze, feeling the sudden warmth that was in her eyes.

  Once again she felt a large hand on her cheek, wiping back a stray tear. She hadn’t even noticed that she had been crying again and she leaned into Jasper’s hand, closing her eyes.

    “I don’t know why they would see anything wrong with you…”

  Pearl flinched a bit, debating whether to explain to her. She was afraid, afraid that she was gonna get kicked out, afraid that this beautiful woman would look at her only in disgust instead of the warm-hearted gaze she had been giving her the past two days. 

  She had only ever received rejection and anger when she told people about that part of her. But would Jasper really look at her that way? She had been very kind, despite her clumsiness and cowardice the past two days. But she still wasn’t sure.

  Pearl leaned against Jasper, staying silent and the muscular woman looked down at her, trying to figure out what she meant by ‘being herself’. She could understand her fear, she wouldn’t wanna live with people who kept being so hostile to her either. But she also worried as to what Pearl meant.

  She looked like any other woman at her age, maybe a bit frail, but otherwise very beautiful. Jasper paused at that thought, looking down at the strawberry blonde head leaning against her shoulder. She felt her heart flutter once again.

Had she fallen for this stranger?

 

* * *

 

 

  After an hour, the two had settled down at the table for breakfast. Jasper swallowed a piece of bread before speaking up, breaking the quietness.

    “I have to go to work at the flowery today… will you be okay here or do you wanna come with me?”, she asked gently while taking another bite of her bread.

  Pearl fidgeted and looked outside, nervously. “I think I’d rather stay inside… after what happened yesterday…” She swallowed nervously thinking back to it and Jasper nodded understandingly.

    “Of course… if anything happens, you can call me over the house phone, I’ll write down my number for you.”

  The big woman stood up to grab a sticky note and a ballpoint pen. “Food and water are in the fridge, be careful with the shower, it’s pretty hot since I tend to shower quite warm,” she explained as she wrote down her number and handed the sticky note to Pearl.

  She then started to get ready to leave for work, waving Pearl, who waved back nervously, as she left through the door. Now Pearl found herself all alone in the living room.

  She looked around, then made her way to the bathroom to take a shower. She hadn’t cleaned herself in a while now and Pearl could only imagine at how bad she smelled by now, not to mention how itchy she was.

  She quickly got into the shower, making sure it wasn’t turned too high for her. She sighed in relaxation as the warm water hit her head and shoulders and her muscles finally relaxed for the first time in weeks.

  Pearl pushed away all the paranoid thoughts she had been having, the fears about getting caught. The young woman only wanted to relax now, not thinking about anything, just let the water run over her body. There was one thought she couldn’t push away though.

  That thought was Jasper.

  She remembered the conversation they had that morning, the amount of concern that she had for someone like Pearl, a stranger she barely met two days ago behind a pub, drunk and bawling her eyes out.

  Why did she make her chest flutter this much, causing her to shiver whenever she touched her. Why did she feel so safe in her arms? Why did she want to pour her heart out to her?

  Was this love?

  She had felt this fluttering before, but only about a year ago she noticed that it only ever arrived when she looked at another woman. Whenever she had talked with others about men, she had been very disinterested. But whenever she saw a pretty woman in the streets she could feel her heart beating faster.

  But when she had told her parents about this, they had reacted with utter rejection, telling her that she was only allowed to love men and that she needed to make sure there was someone who could inherit the massive amounts of money her family had.

  She didn’t care too much at the time, but after they put more and more pressure on her, Pearl couldn’t stand it anymore, so when she turned 19, she ran away from home. The trip to Germany had been easy, considering the money she had taken with her, but she quickly broke under the paranoia and pressure.

  But then Jasper had found her, and suddenly Pearl had felt like she had hope, she had the chance to be free. Her soft smile, her beautiful soft hair and her incredible strength and not to forget, the incredible kindness she had shown to her. She wondered what Jasper thought of her.

  Pearl sighed and got out of the shower, drying herself off with a large towel. once she was dry she got dressed and headed back into the kitchen, settling down at the window once again, staring outside. But she wasn’t nervous anymore, just caught in daydreams as the cars outside drove down the road.

  She watched some birds fly through the trees, standing along the side of the street, some squirrels arguing over a nut and a big cat sitting on the fence across the road, letting out a big yawn before flopping on its side.

  The young woman smiled and sat there for hours till it turned evening, just watching the outside world in the safety of the house… the safety… of the house…

  Pearl’s body tensed up as a black van pulled across the corner. She jumped up in an instant charging into a corner of the room, not visible from the window, where she slumped on the ground, holding her mouth, trying not to make a noise.

  Her heart nearly stopped when she heard a motor stop and a car door opening. The young woman was shivering violently, tears forming at the corners of her eyes, as a heavy hand knocked on the door.

  When they didn’t get an answer, they knocked once again, this time more persistent, and Pearl’s heart was beating in the back of her throat. Suddenly she could hear a familiar voice from outside.

    “Hello there, I’m the owner of this house, can I help you?”

  Jasper.

  Pearl whimpered quietly, thinking of any horrible way this whole thing could backfire. She flinched when she heard a deep voice reply.

    “Yeah, by any chance, we’re looking for this woman. Have you seen her anywhere?”

    “No, I haven’t seen this person before, did they go missing?”

    “They have been missing for a year now, we fear that she might be in danger. Please notify us if you find her.”

  She could hear the rustling of a shopping bag and the noise of a key.

    “Of course, I’ll notify you if I see anything.”

  Two pairs of footsteps distanced themselves from the door, and when she heard the car door close again followed by a motor starting; the front door was opened and Jasper pushed herself into the flat.

  When the huge woman finally pushed her way into the kitchen, she immediately dropped her shopping on the floor and rushed to Pearl’s side. The strawberry blonde whimpered quietly as Jasper kneeled in front of her, frowning.

    “It’s okay, they’re gone…”

  She put her hands on her shoulders, giving Pearl a feeling of security, but she was still very panicky. The scared woman felt as if a bird was clawing at the inside of her chest, wanting to be free and not trapped in her ribcage. The adrenaline was coursing through her vein and she felt overwhelmed with everything. Suddenly everything went dark.

  She felt large arms wrapped around her, her face covered by something and once Pearl had calmed down enough to think clearly again, she noticed that Jasper had hugged her and her face buried in the stronger one's shoulder. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting herself calm down. Then without a warning, a feeling of guilt ripped at her insides.

  Jasper had done so much for her, had taken care of her and was comforting her right now. All she had done so far was nothing in return. She had caused her more trouble than she was worth and she had been nothing but a burden and now…

  Now she was playing hide and seek with people who could hurt her, who could cause her to be in danger and pain. She didn’t want this, she didn’t want anything to happen to this kind woman.

  She freed her face from Jasper’s shoulder and looked up at her with wide eyes. Her lit eyes shone like tiny gold stars even in the darkness of the corner they were in. So wonderful and so warm. Pearl shook her head and looked away.

    “You… you should probably kick me out…”, she muttered, and Jasper had barely understood her at first but then she straightened out her back.

    “Why would I do that?”

  This was the point were Pearl could feel the panic rise even more in her chest.

    “You… I’ve only been a burden to you… I’m putting you in danger…”

  Jasper just chuckled nervously and interlocked her eyes once again. “It’s not that bad…”

  This broke Pearl.

    “It is!”, she yelped frustrated, causing Jasper to flinch. “What if they find out you've been hiding me? What if they hurt you? I just don’t understand why you are doing this if there are so many things that could go wrong. Why are you doing this?!”

  Jasper was shocked. She had not expected the so far quiet woman to have such an outburst. She quickly collected herself though, as Pearl had started sobbing in front of her, face buried in her knees once again.

    “Why I do this… Pearl… I know we’ve only met about two days ago, but listen… I care about you.”

  She slowly pulled Pearl back into a hug, gently going through her hair with her hand, which seemed to calm her down quickly. Her sobbing turned into sniffling and at the end into steady breathing, as she curled up against Jasper’s chest.

  Once she had calmed down, Pearl looked up at the large woman, feeling comforted by a warm but concerned smile. She tried to smile back, but she wasn’t quite sure whether she had managed it or not, because she couldn’t tell if she had moved her face at all. Pearl then started fidgeting with her hands softly asking.

    “Jasper?”

    “Yeah?”

  The warmth in her voice made her entire body light up like a radiator.

    “Have you ever… looked at a woman like a woman look at boys… have you ever felt attracted to a woman… or is it… weird to you…” Jasper’s face had flushed at that question and now that Pearl had made eye contact again, she could feel panic arise in her chest.

    “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to! If you don’t wanna answer that is okay, I was just-”

    “Yes…”

  Pearl had her eyes closed, braced for a wave of anger and disgust, but at that answer, they snapped open once again.

    “Y...yes?”

  Jasper was looking off to the side, her entire face red. “I have… been always attracted to women before… I’ve never really looked at boys the same way other girls did… It’s pretty normal though, some people just don't feel attracted to the other gender and that’s fine.”

  The smile Jasper gave her was what finally pushed Pearl over the edge. She had to tell her how she felt. How her heart had been burning ever since she had met her. How her smile made her stomach flutter and filled her with warmth.

    “I… I have been the same… and… I think… I might've…”

  She hadn't even noticed how close Jasper had gotten and she could feel her breath on her lips as her eyes fluttered closed, Jasper leaning in to close their gap. Jasper’s lip felt soft and warm, while her own ones were chapped and thin. Pearl felt electrified, as she felt a hand on her back, as the two broke apart from each other again.

  They exchanged a deep look before coming together again, this time a lot more passionate. Pearl had never kissed before until now and the feeling was sending electrical shocks down her spine, as her back gently touched the wall. When their lips parted, they both were breathing heavily.

  She felt warm as if Jasper had just lit a fire in her and her heart wanted to jump out of her chest but… in a good way? Her mind was still puzzled and it seemed like Jasper was just as unsure as she was, fuzziness clouding her head. Instinctively, she leaned herself against the huge woman, her arms draped around her, as she closed her eyes. She could hear the other one's heartbeat.

  Jasper put her arms around her, holding her close. She had relationships with other women before, but it hadn’t felt like this before. Whenever she looked at Pearl, she felt all warm and fuzzy inside and she couldn’t wrap her head around it by now. She knew there was something, a crush maybe, but she never had expected Pearl to return the gesture.

    “I’m… I never knew… I feel so funny…”, Pearl laughed nervously leaning back against the wall, holding her forehead. “B-but… I like it… is this what it’s supposed to feel like?” She threw her arms around Jasper again, who laughed as well and pulled her into an embrace once again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the third chapter of this fanfiction. I hope you like it and it isn't too grammatically incorrect. I'm always open to feedback!


	4. Thorns

  The next day, Jasper strutted into the store, a large smile on her face as she settled down behind the counter. She was softly humming a melody while waiting for some customers to arrive all while Ludwig was taking care of the flowers in the back.

  She had left a note for Pearl in the morning since she had still been sleeping peacefully at home. Jasper was gonna call her later, to make sure that she was alright. The huge woman was humming to herself while bundling up some flowers when the huge man wandered over to her.

    “Hey Jasper, how’re you doing? Did something good happen?”, he said, his tone his usual seriousness, but he had a small smile on his face. Jasper beamed at him and told him the entire story and Ludwig laughed.

    “It’s kind of like when I took you in!”

    “Yeah!”

  Ludwig then smiled and handed her a Lily.

    “You could take this home for her! Don’t worry, it’s on the house!”

  The two had a friendly chat while stocking up some of the plants. The hours went by and surprisingly little people came by the shop, but the two weren’t really bothered by that since it was a weekday anyway, so they knew people would come more by the evening.

  Jasper’s head snapped up as the bell of the door rang, swinging open and one of the suited men from yesterday walked through the door. Ludwig quickly walked over to him and Jasper could see how he was a bit nervous, but not too intimidated.

    “Good day sir, is there any way I could help you?”

  The man grunted, his slight Russian accent coming through. “Yes… have you seen this woman sir?” He held up a picture and Jasper could make out Pearl’s face on it. Ludwig just shook his head in denial. “No I have never seen this woman before, but we’ll keep an eye out for her.”

  The intruder nodded and handed the blonde haired man a card, Jasper having gotten the same one yesterday. He then made his way quickly out of the shop, the door slamming loudly closed behind them. Ludwig shook his head and turned around, his eyes settling on Jasper. “You look pale, is everything okay?”

  Jasper shuddered and shook her head, suddenly not feeling too well. When the man walked in, she had half expected Ludwig to remember when Pearl had visited the shop, before leaving again right after.

  Ludwig gave her a pat on the back and told her, she could head home early for now, and Jasper just nodded and slowly made her way back home, despite it still being quite early. She unlocked the door and headed in the kitchen to grab herself a glass of water. She was surprised that Pearl wasn’t awake yet, despite it being one in the afternoon already.

  The huge woman snuck into the bedroom to check, whether she was still asleep, and Pearl was still curled up under the blanket in deep slumber. She smiled softly and headed back to prepare some food while waiting for her to wake up.

  She scrambled up some eggs and once she was done, she settled down with a plate, digging in, figuring it would calm her down since she hadn’t had breakfast this morning. After a few minutes, Pearl entered the kitchen, yawning and covering her mouth with her hand.

  She settled down on the chair while rubbing one of her eyes. Jasper gave her a warm smile and swallowed down her egg.

    “Hello there, sleeping beauty”, she joked, chuckling softly, Pearl glancing at her in confusion, a small blush on her face. Jasper then got out the flower, Ludwig had given her earlier and handed it to Pearl.

    “Since you said you liked the flowers, Ludwig said I should bring you one!” Pearl could feel the blood rushing into her face as she took the Lily in her hand, turning it gently between her fingers. “Thank you… you didn’t have to do that…”

  The bulky woman just grinned at her, while handing the smaller woman her scrambled egg. “It’s no problem. Figured you would like it!” The two continued eating their food in silence.

 

* * *

 

 

  A week went by, and Pearl stayed at Jasper’s house, refusing to leave it in fear of being found. Of course, the huge woman had to leave for work every day, but she always made sure that Pearl was alright while she was out, sometimes calling to check on her.

  It was the evening of Saturday, and both of them were eating their dinner when Jasper spoke up.  “How long are you planning on staying inside?” Her eyes searched to meet Pearl’s, but the other woman just looked away in avoidance.

    “I… I’d rather not…” But she didn’t want to argue, seeing the concerned look Jasper was giving her. She sighed. She knew she had to go out and get some fresh air and that she couldn’t hide in the house forever.

  And the people who were searching for her had probably already left the city she was in, considering that they hadn’t found her and probably assumed she had already moved. Pearl looked up at Jasper and a small smile appeared on her lips.

    “I mean… we could head out tomorrow… I just don’t want to go into a popular area…”

    “That’s fine and I have an idea!”

    “I… I’m having second thoughts, Jasper…”

    “Look it’s fine, no one will notice you with the hood down!”

  The two were walking through a more quiet park than the one they almost got caught at. The huge woman looked back at the smaller one, wearing one of Jasper’s large hoodies, the hood pulled over her head, hiding her face. While she was a goofy sight, Pearl felt surprisingly comfortable in it.

  Which did not change the fact that it kept sliding over her eyes.

  Wandering through the park, Jasper made sure Pearl was able to follow her without getting left behind. She was stumbling after her and bumped into her arm. The strawberry blonde pulled up the hood a little and her eyes interlocked with Jasper’s and her face flushed.

  She could feel an arm wrap around her and Jasper turned to her, smiling softly and Pearl could feel her heart pound loudly. She couldn’t explain the warmth she felt inside her chest as Jasper leaned down and gave her a small kiss on the forehead, all she could do was giggle.

  She then felt a pair of lips gently pressed against hers and a hand on the back of her head, causing her to shudder. She wrapped her arms around Jasper’s neck, smiling into her big lips, pulling her down a bit.

  The two laughed softly, parting and continuing on their walk, Pearl’s arm wrapped around Jasper’s, so she wouldn’t lose her, blinded by the hood.

 

* * *

 

  After dinner, Jasper was getting settled on the couch, when Pearl grabbed her arm softly. The huge woman looked down at her as the other one rubbed her arm, shifting the weight from one foot to another. “If you want… I don’t mind sharing the bed…” Jasper’s face flushed, but she smiled softly.

  The two settled down on the bed, Jasper stretched out on one side and Pearl curled up into a small ball on the other. She had already passed out from the exhaustion of being out all day, while the huge woman stared at the ceiling. The two had gotten closer over the past week, but they hadn’t kissed or had any romantic interaction like that again until today and she was debating whether she should talk with Pearl about this.

  She laid there, awake for a good hour, her mind phasing in and out. As her eyes started falling shut, she could feel the blanket shuffling next to her. Jasper turned herself to the side, looking at Pearl’s back.

  Her side was rising slowly, but Jasper could see her tremble and shiver. She frowned gently and slowly inched closer. Her ears caught her shuddering breath, as Pearl curled up and muttered something in Russian, Jasper obviously didn’t understand.

  The smaller woman then turned around, now facing the muscular woman who could see the tears on her face. She looked upset and stressed, despite being asleep and Jasper could make out her moving eyes under her eyelids.

  Jasper quickly but gently cupped a hand around Pearl’s cheek, wiping away the streaks running down it and whispered to her, to free her out of her nightmare.

    “Hey… hey Pearl… wake up…”

  The young woman bolted up and looked around in panic. Once she noticed where she was, she settled back down groaning. Her in the moonlight shimmering eyes met Jasper’s and she smiled sadly.

    “Is everything okay?”

  Pearl rubbed her eyes before responding. “Yeah… I just had a nightmare… it’s okay now…” She then nudged closer and then looked up as if to ask Jasper for permission. The huge woman put her large arms around Pearl’s petite frame pulling her closer and the smaller one closed her eyes.

  She then felt a large hand, softly going through her blonde, silky hair. Her face heated up, as she clung onto the wide sweatshirt Jasper was wearing. Her shivering subsided at this warm embrace as she melted into the larger one’s body.

    “Jasper…?”

    “Yes, Pearl?”, the answer came and Pearl could feel her body warm up as her heart started to beat faster. She raised her chin, forcing herself to look at Jasper, who’s soft smile glowed in the moonlight, falling through the opened curtains.

    “How do you feel about me… I mean us! … together…”, Pearl spurted out, her face flushing as she noticed how she had messed up. But Jasper didn’t mind and just pulled her into a kiss. when the two parted, Pearl’s eyes fluttered open again.

    “I think I would like that… if you like it as well.”

  Finally, a wide smile settled on Pearl’s lips as she pushed them against Jasper’s gaining a surprised muffled sound before she also melted into the kiss. They grew more passionate and Pearl could feel Jasper’s hand pulling her back, stroking it softly.

  She wrapped her arms around the wide muscular neck and tangled her hands in the long, soft mane. The two gasped for air before they came together again, and Pearl was sure her heart was gonna explode.

  The two separated, gasping desperately for air the smaller one leaned against Jasper’s strong chest, listening to her heartbeat. Her heart calmed itself quickly and before she drifted off, she caught a quiet ‘I love you’.

 

* * *

 

 

  Pearl was pulled awake by the birds outside, curled up on Jasper’s chest, a hand gently on her back. She closed her eyes, breathing in the muscular woman’s scent. She didn’t want to wake her since she was snoring peacefully; her ribcage raising under her.

 

  Suddenly Jasper let out a loud yawn and stretched, Pearl almost sliding off her. A large hand quickly grabbed her behind, keeping her up and they both froze for a second. Pearl could feel her face heat up, as she slid down and Jasper quickly moved her hand back to her shoulders.

    “Morning… sorry about that…”, Jasper coughed awkwardly, but Pearl’s soft giggle lit up her face. The big woman planted a soft kiss on Pearl’s cheek, who flushed slightly, giggles still bubbling out from her throat.

    “I need to go to work soon Pearl… I want to ask if maybe, you would like to come with? It’s okay if you don’t want to”, Jasper added quickly when she saw the other woman’s face drop immediately. She fidgeted with her hands nervously, avoiding eye contact.

    “I… I don’t know…”

    “It’s okay if you don’t want too, but it would be safe for you, since I usually work inside! Plus I could show you some stuff about flowers and if it gets too much, you can head into the back, where it’s nice and quiet!” This cheered Pearl up again, a humble smile growing on her lips. She then nodded in agreement. “Okay! I’ll try!”

  After eating a small breakfast the two drove over to the flowery, Pearl still wearing Jasper’s huge hoodie to cover herself. Today was a rainy day, so it wouldn’t be suspicious for her to wear warm clothing.

  Ludwig smiled at the two from the door, looking quite surprised, but he fist bumped Jasper and wished her a good morning, before looking at Pearl, who didn’t even notice that she had been clinging on Jasper’s hand.

    “Hey there, who’s this Jasper? Is this the girl you couldn't stop talking about?”, he joked, laughing as the huge woman flushed a little before nodding. “It’s nice to meet you Pearl, my name is Ludwig, I am the owner of this flower shop!”

He held out his hand to Pearl, a small friendly smile on his face and Pearl shook it hesitantly. “Pleasure to meet you too… I hope it’s okay if I stay for today…”

    “That’s perfectly fine! We open in an hour, so Jasper can show you around a little,” he exclaimed with a smile to assure her. He could see how nervous she was, but he also explained to her that today, there would be very little customers entering due to the weather.

  This seemed to calm Pearl down significantly, as the two women slinked into the shop and out of the rain. Jasper took her around the back to the flowery storage, showing her all the different types of flowers they had growing in the greenhouse, explaining the meaning of them.

  She then went to show Pearl how to tie a bouquet, which flowers go well together and so on. She then got some flowers for Pearl to try. “I think these would do well! I removed the thorns already, but be careful in case I missed any!”, Jasper exclaimed as she wandered over to her, a bunch of pink roses in her hands. She was a bit shocked when Pearl’s face dropped immediately. “You okay?”

  The young woman tried to fake a smile, but it was painfully obvious. “I… I’m fine!”, she said softly; Jasper not convinced by her statement. The strawberry blonde sighed when Jasper was still furrowing her eyebrows at her. “I… we can talk about it later… let's just continue with bouquets!”

  Jasper agreed hesitantly and watched Pearl bundle some Lilies instead and she was surprised at how delicately she arranged them colourwise. The two continued bundling some flowers before Jasper left to the counter after a customer rang the bell.

  At first, Pearl was just focusing on the flowers, until loud chattering and laughing caught her interest. Curiously she poked around the corner of the door. Jasper was standing at the counter talking to, what looked to be a student from the nearby university.

  She looked up at Jasper, being a lot shorter than the muscular woman; big glasses on her nose and her hair quite messy. She had her school bag over her shoulder and was quite wet from the rain, probably having to walk home after her classes.

    “Yeah sure, the rain should stop soon Peri so just stay here before your books get soaked even more,” Jasper laughed a bit gaining an insulted look from the nerdy student.

    “That’s not funny Jasper! Anyways, I wanted to pick out some flowers for my girlfriend anyway,” she explained annoyed as Jasper went around the counter to help her pick out some flowers.

  Pearl snuck through the door and stood there watching curiously, when Jasper turned around, a bit surprised to see her standing there. “Oh hey, I thought you were still back there! See my friend Peridot over here wants to get some Lilies for her girlfriend, could you get the ones from the back?”

    “Of course!”

  Pearl quickly got the Lilies and handed them to the small woman, who looked happy with them.  “So you’re a new worker here?”, she asked while carefully putting the flowers into her bag with her books.

    “No no, I’m just here since Jasper asked me to come with her…”, she explained a small flush on her face when Peridot looked up at her with a small smug grin. Jasper was about to say something before she got interrupted.

    “I see! Are you two roommates?”

  Pearl flushed but Jasper answered for her quickly, also flustered. “You could say that I kind of took her in since she didn’t have a place to stay. Soooo, I guess we are roommates now.”

    “I see, that’s very nice of you Jasper! Anyways, see you two around,” Peridot replied still smirking as she walked to the door, but not before looking back at Jasper and shooting her a thumbs up.

    “I’m sorry about that Pearl… Peridot can be a bit…”

  But Pearl was giggling at Jasper and she blushed even more but then she smiled softly, glad that the smaller woman had cheered up at least a bit.

  The two finished up their work, packing the flowers in the back and said goodbye to Ludwig for the day. afterwards they drove home after picking up some food from the supermarket. While Jasper was preparing dinner, Pearl sat at the table in silence, once again looking out through the window onto the dark street, sunken in daydreaming.

  Jasper sat down with the food, after handing the young woman her plate. She didn’t even notice, too stuck in thoughts and she managed to pry her eyes away from the outside when Jasper spoke up.

    “Hey so… about the thing in the shop… I’m sorry if I made you upset, I didn’t know you had a problem with roses…”

    “It’s fine… you couldn’t have known,” Pearl explained, looking back outside but listening now. “It’s just… it’s a long story.”

  She felt a large warm hand on her own petite and cold one. It made her feel calm and relaxed. She looked up, her glassy eyes meeting Jaspers, glowing back like sparks of a campfire.

    “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me now… I just want you to know that I’m there and whenever you feel like it, you can talk to me.” She felt Jasper’s thumb slowly drawing circles on her hand, gently massaging it. Pearl lost herself in the comfort of her partner as they ate their food in silence.


	5. Hangout

  It was a nice warm Sunday. Jasper and Pearl were sitting on the couch, relaxing and watching the morning news. Pearl had calmed down a lot over the past few days and had become a lot more talkative, now that she wasn’t terrified of being found by the suited men anymore.

  Jasper had her large arm wrapped around her shoulders, when the phone rang loudly. Jasper sighed and stood up, taking it of the station.

    “Hello?”, she spoke into the phone and Pearl could tell that she was annoyed. But then Jasper’s face lit up a bit.

    “Yeah we haven’t talked in a while… I’m doing good how’re you?... actually, I have had a roommate for the past few weeks, so actually something happened!... yeah there staying for a while… that’d be nice, let me go ask them if they want to come too!”

  Jasper turned around to the young woman, taking the phone slightly off her head. “My cousin was gonna ask if you and me wanted to come over for dinner this evening. I haven’t seen them in a while so I thought it might be nice!”

    “Of course, that’d be nice!!”, Pearl exclaimed smiling, and sipping the tea she had sitting on the café table. Jasper nodded and continued talking with her cousin on the phone.

  The two spent the rest of the day relaxing. When the evening came around, they both made themselves ready. Pearl was very nervous and wanted to make a good first impression, which is why she took a long time to get ready, despite Jasper telling her, that she could wear casual clothing and she didn’t need to work herself up so much.

  Her cousin and her roommates weren’t exactly the most formal people and this was gonna be a nice calm family meeting. She made herself ready and she and Pearl headed out to the car.

  The drive wasn’t long, only to the other end of the city. Her cousin was sharing a house there with some of her friends from school and university. Jasper parked the car next to the house and the two went up to the door.

  The huge woman was about to knock on the door, when it already swung open and a short woman launched herself at Jasper. Both of the laughed loudly and the purple haired woman punched the huge one in the arm, playfully.

    “Eeeeeey J! Long time no seen!”, the small woman yelled loudly, wrapping her arm around Jasper patting her on the back as both of them laughed loudly. “How're you doing?”

    “I’m doing good! How’re you and the others, the semester going well?”

    “Could be better!,” Jasper’s cousin laughed, looking past her at Pearl, who had been standing there in silence. The pale woman looked at the smaller tanned one, a nervous smile on her face as the other woman stepped towards her and stretched out her hand,a large grin on her face.

    “Yo, the name’s Amethyst!”

Pearl hesitated before shaking the large hand, feeling warm hospitality coming from the other woman. “Hello… my name’s Pearl, it’s nice to meet you!”

  They both were invited inside and sat down in the living room on a worn down couch, the tv playing in the background, on silent. Jasper and Amethyst were chatting lively, talking about what they had been doing the past few months. Pearl was looking around the shared house, lost in thoughts, when Amethyst started talking to her.

    “Sooo, where are you from?”, she hummed, leaning back on the couch.

    “I’m from Russia!”

  Amethyst’s eyes widened in curiousity. “Yo that’s cool! How is it there? Are people really always drunk there? Is driving really that dangerous?” Through her excitement, she didn’t notice Pearl moving uncomfortably in her seat, until Jasper pat her on the back.

    “She kinda doesn’t like to talk about it Amy, fact is she lives here now”, the huge woman interrupted her cousin, not wanting to make her partner anymore uncomfortable. Amethyst frowned a bit, but she understood. “Sorry about that.”

    “It’s fine…”

  They kept talking and soon Pearl also chimed in on the conversation, when a door upstairs opened and someone walked down the stairs. cutting around the corner into the living room. In came the student, who Pearl had met a few days ago, dressed in a large radioactive green hoodie. When she looked up from her phone, she walked over and threw herself onto the sofa, yelping a distracted ‘hello’ at them.

  Jasper’s friend then went back to scrolling on her phone, aggressively typing, her eyebrows furrowed.

    “Yo, what’s wrong Peri?”, Amethyst asked her after a minute of silence and Peridot just let out a deep sigh.

    “Garnet just texted me, saying she’ll be late today, since there’s a traffic jam on the autobahn so we she said we should just order food for dinner,” she rambled as she put the phone on the coffee table and leaned back in the couch. “Goddamn people, can’t drive…”

    “Oh well, let’s order some food and let’s get some for Garnet when she comes home.”

 

  After a few minutes on banter on what to order, they finally decided on having pizza, settling back down as they waited for it to arrive. Amethyst and Jasper were still chatting about life, while Pearl had settled down next to Peridot, eyes widened in curiousity as she told her about her girlfriend.

    “She can be a bit abrasive but she does have a kind heart. She didn’t wanna come today though, since she is quite exhausted from her job. She works at the local aquarium and it is quite difficult since she had to help clean the pools today,” Peridot explained when Pearl questioned her about her girlfriend whom she had gotten flowers for the other day.

    “She loves working with fish though, she has a ton of aquariums at home and also owns a lot of lizards and snakes.” Pearl listened to her intrigued.

    “That sounds very cool, also did she enjoy the flowers you bought the other day for her?”, Pearl added, a soft smile on her face and Peridot grinned.

    “Yeah, she loved them!”, Peridot answered before both of them jumped as the doorbell started screeching like a demon. “Jeez, Amy I told you to change that goddamn bell!” But Amethyst just shrugged and went to answer the door and in walked a large woman, holding a few pizzas in her hand, muttering something about bad traffic, making Amethyst laugh loudly.

  They settled down and Jasper started lively chatting with the woman that had arrived home, sitting there with the calmness of a mountain lake. She had voluminous, curly, dark hair, flowing next to her head and she dark skin shimmered mysteriously against the warm light of the room. She wore a black hoodie and baggy pants and despite the darkness of the night, sunglasses were covering her eyes.

  She extended her hand for a friendly handshake to Pearl, who was quite intimidated but she returned the gesture, making the tall woman smile. “You must be Pearl. Amethyst has told me that you’re together with Jasper. My name is Garnet, it’s nice to meet you.” Pearl just nodded feeling her face flush a bit and she looked over at Jasper, who also had a small flush on her face, Amethyst next to her grinning widely. She squinted a bit at Jasper’s cousin.

  But the smaller woman just started unpacking the pizza, snatching a piece and shoving it into her mouth before realizing it was to hot and struggling. Jasper laughed at her as she herself took a piece, waiting for it to cool down.

  They all took their time, eating and chatting with each other for the rest of the evening and Pearl was starting to grow more lively herself, joining in on the conversations they were having.

    “So, are you gonna stay with her?”, Peridot asked, curiousity sparking in her eyes and Pearl shifted around embarrassed. She was about to answer, when Jasper interrupted her.

    “If she wants to, I have absolutely no problem with that.”

  Pearl flushed looking at her partner, who was giving her a soft and caring smile before sitting down next to her, laying her arms around her shoulder. Suddenly the strawberry blonde felt soft warm lips press against her bright red cheek. Her mind started racing, expecting to be yelled at but to her surprise the others didn’t seem to mind at all. Amethyst was cheering her cousin on while Garnet just gave them a thumbs up. Peridot had been to focused on her phone.

  Pearl could feel her heart warm up, feeling comfortable again seeing everyone’s support and she could feel tears of relieve burn up in her eyes. “Are you okay?”, Jasper asked concerned but the worry faded when the smaller woman looked up at her with a big smile. She nuzzled into Jasper’s strong neck as they continued chattering with each other.

  Though the evening was nice, they had to leave soon since it was Sunday and Jasper had to get up early to work the next day. Pearl gladly shook everyone’s hand, all hesitation gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter is a bit shorter than usual, but the next one is gonna be a lot longer.


	6. Date

  Pearl had been sitting at home watching outside her favourite window, waiting for her partner to come home. It had been a month since Jasper had picked her up from the streets and ever since the two had proclaimed their love, she had been staying in Jasper’s house, waiting for her to arrive from work.

  She didn’t mind the wait. The silence of the neighbourhood Jasper lived in had an extremely calming effect on her. The days had gotten longer now that spring was really arriving and it wasn’t dark anymore, when Jasper came home from work. The ringing of the doorbell snapped her out of dreamland and she bolted to the door, looking through the peephole to see Jasper.

  She quickly unlocked the door and hugged the large woman as she came in. Jasper laughed in return and picked her up gaining a surprised shriek. Quickly Pearl was carried over to the couch and plopped down on the pillows. The strawberry blonde sat up, making space for Jasper next to her.

    “You know, I had an idea! How about we eat dinner at a restaurant? Like… a date of sorts!”, Jasper grinned at her and Pearl felt fuzzy in her stomach. Her face flushed brightly as she replied.

    “I would really like that!”

 

* * *

 

  A lot of restaurants were full during this time but the two managed to book a booth in the back, so Pearl didn’t have to sit right next to the windows in plain sight. It was in a nice darkish corner, a warm lamp emitting the only light. They settled down, Pearl on the couch and Jasper on the chair in front of her as they ordered their food.

  Jasper laid her large hand atop of hers, gently caressing the other woman’s petite finger’s and Pearl smiled up at her. They cherished the tender moment as they gazed into each other's eyes. The two women stayed like this until Pearl broke the silence; her voice chiming softly.

    “Thank you… for everything...”

    “It’s no problem… I love you Pearl”, Jasper replied, her rough voice bellowing from deep within her chest and it made Pearl’s heart light up. She smiled coyly, placing her other hand over Jasper’s rough ones. After waiting for a few more minutes, their food arrived and Pearl hadn’t noticed how hungry she had been.

  The large woman somehow managed to make her feel safe, no matter where they went and the unease of feeling like she was being followed had left her shoulders slowly. Living with Jasper had lifted a huge weight of her and she stared into those beautiful hazelnut eyes. She loved the warmth glowing behind those warm orbs like tiny suns.

  Pearl finally felt like she could be herself again, finally she could feel again and express freely how she thought. It felt good, it gave her security, grounded her as the world around her kept on spinning. And Jasper was the center of it all, an anker she could cling to, to keep her from flying off.

  After they were done with their food, the waiter handed them the cards for dessert and as Jasper buried her face in the menu, Pearl’s gaze wandered around the restaurant. Barely any tables were free and voices hovered through the dining hall like a swarm of bees. While this kind of loudness usually made her nervous, this time it had the opposite effect.

  Knowing people minded their own business and did not pay any attention to her, she continued looking around. A lot of couples were seated next to small families wanting to spend a nice evening. It was when the door opened and the next two guests were led inside to be seated, her heart nearly stopped. Terrified she hid behind her menu, grabbing onto Jasper’s hand to get her attention.

  Over the top of her card she could see Jasper’s furrowed brows of confusion. The large woman took her hand, trying to calm her down as she asked.

    “Is something wrong Pearl?”

    “I-it’s them” Pearl’s voice had grown thin and was quaking as Jasper turned around slightly, catching a glimpse of the two suited men that had entered the restaurant. Their backs were turned to the couple but Jasper was aware that they could turn around at any second.

    “It’s okay… they can’t see you Pearl.” She squeezed the frail hand in her own reassuringly, as she turned her gaze back to Pearl. While it helped Pearl to relax a little, her hair was still on edge as she felt her chest tighten up with panic.

    “I… I need to get out…”

  Her tone must’ve further worried Jasper, who looked around trying to find a solution. She then turned back to her partner, her eyes struck with worry. “You could try to take the bathroom window to climb out, if you’re quick they won’t see you. You can hide behind the restaurant and I’ll come around the back for you.”

  Pearl’s hand was shaking and cold but she quickly stood up and slinked into the hallway leading to the bathrooms,  sneaking into it as quietly as possible. She wasn’t sure whether the others had seen her, as she felt her chest contract. But she knew she had no time to panic now, knowing she had to flee. Thankfully the window was unlocked, as she nimbly climbed up to it. Squeezing through it was simply, due to the flexibility she had learned while dancing ballet back at home.

  She landed safely on the ground outside, hiding behind a dumpster and sinking down against the wall, a small whimper crawling out of her throat. Pearl cursed herself for ever lowering her guard as she pulled her legs to her chest, sinking her head into her hands. Her guard was what had kept her from getting caught so far, not only that but she also brought Jasper into danger. What if the men had spotted her, what if they had done something to her girlfriend.

  Her girlfriend.

  Pearl knew her parents would not hesitate to send the mafia after her, considering they had so much money. They would hurt her or worse even… she did not want to finish that thought and the shaking woman curled in on herself, soft sobs forcing themselves out of her frail body. Pearl lost track of time, completely defenseless, leaning against the dirty wall. It was when a hand touched her shoulder, gentle as a breeze, her head snapped up and she was met with a comforting presence.

  Jasper gently scooped her into her strong arms, softly stroking Pearl’s soft hair. She couldn’t help but cling onto Jasper for dear life as she felt herself be lifted of the ground as the huge woman carried her to the car, gently putting her on the backseat and driving home as quickly as possible.

  When Pearl was placed down on the bed, all the strength she had managed to keep up her calm facade, dissipated into the thin night air as she curled up and went limp except for the shivers and shudders that went through her body as she wept. Jasper lowered herself on the bed next to her and she could feel herself be enwrapped in musculous arms, warm and gentle. Pearl curled against Jasper’s chest, breathing in her calming scent.

  It hurt so much, like a sword stabbed into her back, a sword made of fear. But Jasper was there to kiss those wounds shut, as she rubbed her back shushing soothingly. The warmth was comfortable and entrancing, Pearl’s body sinking into Jasper’s as she slowly drifted off.

 

* * *

 

  The frail woman’s head felt like it was going to explode, her heart racing as she snapped awake. Almost immediately she was pulled into an embrace making her sigh, letting her tense muscles relax against Jasper’s warm body. She felt incredibly comfortable and she was about to fell back to slumber, when a pair of soft lips planted a caress on her forehead. She looked up at Jasper, coyly as she nuzzled into the large woman’s neck.

    “Are you doing okay? Did you rest well?”

  She nodded lightly in reply and Jasper barely noticed, smiling gently at her love. She pulled Pearl closer, offering her protection and hold as they lied there in silence. After dozing for what seemed way too short for Pearl, she looked up at the huge woman’s chiseled chin, her eyebrows furrowed gently across her face.

    “Don’t you have to go to work today?”

    “I told Ludwig I had to stay at home and take care of you. He was very understanding” She pulled Pearl tighter into her hug, careful as not to hurt her. “I’ve known Luddy for a long time, he knows I never stay at home if it wasn’t important,” she added as Pearl looked up at her in scepticism.

    “How did you get to know him?”

    “Well, me and Ludwig met at the gym when I had just moved over to Germany. See, I used to be in a quite a bit of a slump and he spotted me trying to… take a shot. He knew exactly what I was doing and started talking to me, gently offering help and telling me that I need to get some help. It broke me down and he offered to help me out. And it took a long time but eventually I worked through my addiction with a therapist and if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t know where I’d be now.”

  Jasper smiled in nostalgia, despite this situation being only a few years ago. To her it felt like it had been a long time and she was glad she jumped over that hurdle. She looked down at Pearl who had been staring up at her with wide eyes full of curiousity and she chuckled planting a soft kiss on the others thin lips. Pearl squeaked in surprise, touching her lips with her hand, trying to avoid Jasper’s gaze, who smiled at her widely.

    “I’m kind of hungry…”

    “Same”

  After finishing their breakfast, the two snuggled on the couch. Pearl was once again curled against Jasper’s large side and she could feel the smaller one shifting slightly. She was met with large sky blue eyes when she looked down and Jasper could see the small tint of fear in them. She gently moved her hand over Pearl’s back, who buried her face in Jasper’s side. She then flinched, shaking Jasper out of her thoughts.

    “Is everything okay Pearl?”

    “I think we both need a bath… We smell like dumpster.”

  A bellowing laugh echoed out of Jasper’s chest. since Pearl had been staying with her, she had been noticing Pearl’s desire to have everything clean and orderly, scrunching up her nose when she left her clothes lying around or didn’t wash the dishes immediately, which uncannily reminded her of Ludwig, who more than often yelled at his husband who had no sense of order.

  She noticed Pearl’s nose flinch as she grew restless in Jasper’s arms, before jolting up, which made the huge woman laugh out again. Pearl just stared at Jasper who was chuckling at the other woman’s face. She was so cute when she scrunched up her nose. She couldn’t resist but to poke it, which gained her an insulted look. Pearl then proceeded to try and pull Jasper of the couch, obviously not being successful.

    “Alright, Alright, I’m gonna go take a shower.”

  Jasper shook her head laughing as she made a beeline to the bathroom, while Pearl stood there watching, hands on her hips. Once the large woman had disappeared behind the door, she sat down sighing and leaning back. She hated dirt and filth, though she wasn’t quite germophobic she still really hated bringing herself in contact with anything germ related. Being clean is probably the only thing she could thank her parents for. She stood back up looking around the room and she shivered, noticing uncleaned dishes in the kitchen sink and dirt on the floor from when Jasper had walked back into the house after forgetting her keys yesterday.

  She scoffed and grabbed a towel to take care of the dishes, humming to herself to not have an aneurysm at the dirt in the house. The sound of the shower through the wall had a calming effect on her, as did the loud singing coming from it. She smiled as she continued with her work in silence, turning to cleaning the floor. Pearl didn’t like the sound of the vacuum cleaner, it was too loud for her sensitive ears, since she had always lived in a very quiet household. But she knew it had to be done.

  Pearl finished just finished cleaning up, as the bathroom door opened up and Jasper stepped out into the living room. At first the petite woman just looked at her smiling softly… before her eyes widened. The huge woman was wearing a towel, at least over her legs. She was however missing one over her upper body and Pearl could feel her face heat up. The strawberry blonde quickly covered her eyes, flushing furiously and Jasper frowned at her, wondering what was wrong. Until she noticed herself, quickly pulling of the towel from her hair and putting it in front of her exposed breasts.

    “Oh no, it’s okay Pearl I covered up, I’m sorry… It’s just, I usually only wear one around my hips but it’s okay now! You don’t need to be embarrassed.” Pearl slowly uncovered her eyes, face still burning hot as she stepped nervously in place. A sudden smirk on Jasper’s face almost made her wanna cover her eyes again and the comment made her shudder in shame. “So you like what you see?”

  Pearl whined quietly, her avoiding Jasper’s glance, who was chuckling a bit and disappeared into the bedroom, not wanting to upset the smaller woman. After she had recovered from the initial shock, Pearl made her way into the bathroom to finally take a shower herself. She desperately needed to get rid of the smell of trash, clinging onto her body like a film of filth and she made a mental note to next time be more careful where she decides to have a mental breakdown. Not that she had much control over that.

 

* * *

 

  The next day, Pearl was waiting anxiously for Jasper to come home again. The woman had been very nervous this morning, feeling alone, not to mention Jasper had left her alone without waking her up to say goodbye. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a clicking at the door, much to her surprise, since Jasper still had another two hours of work. The large woman stepped into the house, seeking for Pearl before trotting over to her, pulling her into a greeting hug.

    “Hey, I forgot to tell you but I’m actually going to the gym today which is why I’m home early.”

  Pearl wasn’t too surprised at this, considering Jasper’s strong build. She looked up at the buff woman, arms still wrapped around her. Though she was not too keen on the fact that she would be alone for another few hours. Jasper must’ve see the anxiety in her eyes, because she pulled her closer.

    “If you want you could come with me. That way you don’t have to stay alone.”

    “That’d be nice”, Pearl muttered, pressing her face into her partner’s chest, seeking comfort. Jasper calmly went through her hair for a minute, giving Pearl some time to relax, before she went and got her gym clothes.

  The gym was very close, only a few blocks away and it seemed to be pretty empty today. As soon as they entered the building, Pearl looked around with a sudden curiousity. She had never been in a gym, so she went to investigate some of the training equipment, while Jasper went into the changing rooms. The frail woman was currently fascinated by one of the objects, when she felt a presence creeping up to there.

    “Hey there, you interested by the training equipment?” Pearl spun around and looked up at the man. He looked like he was in his early twenties, though he had white hair and his skin looked sickly pale. His jittering eyes locked with hers, a weird translucent mix of magenta, red and light blue. “I could show you around if you want!”, the stranger continued, winking flirtatious at her, having no effect on the woman.

    “I… I…”

    “Brother, what the hell are you doing?”

  Pearl felt a wave of relief wash over her body, when she noticed that the person walking up to them was Ludwig. She quickly took a few steps backwards to be next to him but his serious gaze was fixated on his… brother?

    “Aaaw, come on Luddy I was just trying to be nice!”

    “Yeah, yeah, I would recommend you back off of her, she’s Jasper’s girlfriend.”

Pearl was surprised when the other man somehow became paler than he already was, backing away a bit before suddenly his face flushed a bright red. “I-I’m sorry…” Pearl just shook her head, shooting him a nervous smile. “It’s fine…”

  That was when Jasper entered the gym hall, wandering over to the three, a wide smile on her face. “I see you met Gil!”, before she shot a knowing glare at the man, who shrunk into himself. “He can be a bit… abrasive.”

    “I already said I’m sorry…”, he muttered crossing his arms and avoiding Jasper’s tense glare. Ludwig cleared his throat to dissipate the tension, before telling his brother to follow him. Once they left, Jasper leaned down to her, frowning. “He didn’t make you nervous, did he?”

    “A little… but it’s okay now…”

    “That’s good. Gil can be a bit straightforward and flirty but he has a good heart.”

    “What was up with his eyes?”, Pearl asked, quieting her voice, despite the two brothers being nowhere near them.

    “Gil has albinism, which also can cause his eyes to jitter like that. He’s fine with it, his eyesight just isn’t the best and he needs to be very careful with the sunlight, not only because of his eyes but also because of his skin. That’s one of the reason’s he usually only works in the flower shop on rainy days or in autumn. But despite all that, he’s doing as good as any other person, if not even more enthusiastic. Though he can be a bit of a flirt, he tried getting with me once. Needless to say I told him no and he left me alone.”

  Pearl nodded understanding, then she pulled Jasper into a hug, which she didn’t hesitate to return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a little bit of a longer chapter to make up for the short one before this.


	7. Roses

  The past days, she had been getting a lot better. Pearl had been feeling a lot more comfortable around strangers, going as far as being able to stay alone without Jasper for more than five minutes in a public place. Though the large woman would never let her out of sight for too long, knowing that Pearl was still being searched for.

  Today they had walked down to the supermarket, having to buy some food for the week. Jasper asked Pearl to grab some milk, while she went off to the frozen food section. The strawberry blonde wandered through the isles, trying to find the milk, when she felt a small tug on her sleeve. When she looked down, she was met by a pair of dark brown eyes shining warmly up at her.

    “Excuse me, have you seen my dad?”, a small boy asked, while nervously stepping from one foot to the other. He looked to be about 6 years old. Pearl could feel anxiety clawing at her back, but she just smiled as calmly as she could. “No, how does he look like?” Before the small boy could answer, Jasper wandered over to them and the child ran towards her as she opened her arms laughing. “Hey little Steven! Where’s your father?”

    “Jasper! I lost him!”

    “Let’s go and find him them, Pearl, this is Steven. Garnet sometimes takes him over to my cousin, so she can babysit him”, Jasper explained, picking the small boy up and putting him on her shoulders.

    “Hello Steven, I’m Pearl.” The boy’s eyes widened with awe as he looked at Jasper, then back at Pearl and then back to the large woman. “Are you Jasper’s girlfriend?”

  Pearl made a strangled noise as Jasper burst out into loud laughter. “You’re so smart, yeah she is!” The strawberry blonde looked around nervously, her face flushing before she walked up next to Jasper, who put a calming hand on her shoulder. “Now let’s find your dad!”

  They didn’t take long to find the man, who was desperately running through the isles, looking for his son. When he spotted them, Jasper waved, a large fangbaren grin on her face, which Pearl loved so much. However, the smile she had on her face turned into a frown when the man stopped in front of them, frowning at her.

  It seemed like he was frozen for a second, but then he turned to Jasper with a smile, taking his son. He seemed to not recognise Pearl, or at least he had been unsure. But his hesitance already confirmed Pearl’s suspicion, causing her entire body to stand on edge.

    “Hey there Schtuball, don’t run away like that again or your old man is gonna have a heart attack one day!”

    “Na, you’ll be fine Greg, you’re not that old to be worrying about a heart attack!”, Jasper laughed, patting the man on the back harshly, almost making the young father fall over. Now Steven was laughing as well, holding onto his father’s hand. “Well anyways, thank you for finding my son Jasper and…”

    “Her names Pearl.”

  Now the man tensed up again and stared at Pearl for a good few seconds, who kept up the eye contact, before diverting it to her feet again. “That’s… well this is funny…”, he said, as he laughed nervously, still on edge and the strawberry blonde couldn’t help but scowl at him.

    “Yes… hilarious…”, she growled sarcastically and Jasper had noticed the tension between the two, putting a hand on her back. “So I guess this is?” She smiled down at the small boy, her tenseness momentarily disappearing from her face. Pearl wasn’t about to blame this child for the quarrel she and his dad had.

    “Yeah…”, Greg answered nervously fidgeting around the hem of his shirt. Something was off and Pearl could feel the tension in the air still raising higher. She averted her eyes from Greg, feeling her face burning with the awkward feeling in the pit of her stomach.

    “How is she doing…?”

  The silence that followed just fueled Pearl’s anxiety like gasoline a wildfire. When she finally looked back up at the man, she felt her stomach drop at the sadness in his eyes. “W-what… did anything happen to her?”, she exhaled sharply, her legs growing weak. Before Greg could say a thing, Jasper spoke up.

    “How about you bring Steven over to Amethyst’s house and then we could… talk about this?” All she got was a nod from the man and a confused look from the small child, which changed into a smile when Jasper went over to ruffle his dark brown locks.

 

* * *

 

  The drive back from Amethyst’s house was filled with an uncomfortable silence. Amethyst had been very surprised at them showing up, but when Jasper had quietly explained the situation, she had just nodded quietly and started up a video game to play with Steven, while they said goodbye.

  Pearl had been avoiding everyone's gaze on the way back home, feeling too anxious to say anything but the muttered Russian curses under her breath. She very well knew Greg could understand her if he had heard her, but she couldn’t care less at this moment. Jasper was eyeing the stressed out woman out of the corner of her eye, mostly having to concentrate on the road.

    “How about a tea once we get home?”, the strong woman asked, turning around to Greg, who had sunken into the backseat at this point. He just nodded quietly and when Jasper turned to Pearl, the Russian woman was staring out the window, not saying a word.

  Once they had finally settled down on the couch at home, they all calmed down a little bit. Pearl had curled up, pulling her legs up to her chest as she stared blankly ahead of her. Greg was looking over her, his eyebrows furrowed in concern and thought. Jasper didn’t need to take a look at her partner to know that she was scared.

  And she knew there was a storm was brewing up, if they had been talking about who she thought they had. The large woman briefly wondered what went on between them, what caused this kind of distrust; not wanting the situation to escalate any further. Jasper didn’t want to stand between one of her friends and her girlfriend. A small part of her had already thought Pearl was also mad at her, and the frail woman must’ve read her mind because she looked up and gifted her a gentle smile.

  The huge woman settled down next to the frail figure, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder before taking a deep breath. She looked at Greg, who had leaned forward and fidgeted with his hands.

    “What… is she okay?”, Pearl finally managed to break out, shaking violently, her heart beating in her throat like a ticking time bomb. Her whole world started spinning when Greg finally spoke up. It felt like her heart was being mauled by a vicious predator and she froze up completely.

    “She… she sadly passed away during childbirth… I’m so sorry Pearl…”

  The small tears appearing at the corner of the man’s eyes were nothing compared to the streams that were staining the despairing woman’s face as she covered her mouth in shock. Her entire body was fighting her and her voice didn’t want to obey her as she wanted to scream and cry and just make any sound at all.

  But she was silent, as if her vocal cords had been ripped out by the bad news. She just sat there, staring blankly as her brain stinged in pain, trying to process what she had just heard. “Pearl?” It was when Jasper spoke up, Pearl finally snapped out of her terrified trance.

  She fell against Jasper’s broad shoulder as the larger woman wrapped her arms around her as she sank in on herself, not able to stop her heaving as she wept. The huge woman looked over at Greg, who was sitting there unsure whether he should also try and comfort the weeping woman or if that would end up in her lashing out at him. Jasper smiled at him in pity, before pulling Pearl against her chest.

  The strawberry blonde latched onto her shirt like a lifeline, not letting go as she borrowed her face in Jasper’s warm body, her body shuddering with every sob. All her mind could think off was to bury herself from the world, disappear and forget. But she knew she couldn’t do that.

  Jasper was the one thing that grounded her, kept her on earth and kept her from drifting off into the horrifying depths of the pain she felt in her chest. Pearl closed her eyes, confused, shocked and her entire body feeling like it had just been hit by a 40 ton truck.

  After a few minutes, Jasper noticed she had cried herself to sleep, as she went limp in her arms and her sobbing started to even out into a mere sniffle. Greg sighed as he stood up and walked over to the duo, putting his hand gently on the whimpering woman’s shoulder.

    “I am so sorry Pearl…”

    “It’s okay… it wasn’t your fault this happened… no one could’ve foresee this happening to Rose…”

    “I know… but I should’ve at least contacted her somehow…”

  Jasper shook her head, cradling her girlfriend’s head. “What could’ve been doesn’t matter now Greg… she knows now anyways… I’ll take care of her…”

  The past few hours had become quiet ever since Greg had left the house to head home and pick Steven up. The only thing breaking the silence was Pearl’s soft sniffles, as she was curled up against Jasper’s side, her face buried. While Jasper still didn’t know what kind of connection Pearl had to Greg and his wife, she could see they must’ve been very close. But she could only speculate what had happened, until she asked Pearl.

  Though now was not the time, the strawberry blonde had just received some heartbreaking news and seeing her this upset threw Jasper back to a month ago, where she had found the broken down woman behind a bar. She had almost forgot how weak she had looked back then, nervous about the slightest noise and constantly on edge. Pearl had come so far and Jasper knew that, despite how hurt she was now.

  But all she could do at this moment was hold her girlfriend close as the frail woman rested. Her sniffling had calmed down the past few minutes and she was exhaling softly again Jasper’s skin, who’s fingers stroked gently through her soft, short hair. The huge woman gently lifted her up into her arms, as she went to carry her into the bedroom to rest more comfortably on the bed.

  But when she went to settle the frail woman down, she was unable to separate her from her shirt. It was as if Pearl clinged onto her for dear life, so she just settled down next to her, scooping her back into her arms. She stayed with her until she stifled awake, looking around in confusion before the truth settled back into her again, as she pulled herself closer to Jasper.

    “W-why…”

  The huge woman looked down at her in concern and she was about to ask what Pearl meant, when she continued out of her own accord. “Why did this happen…” Jasper shook her head and put one of her hands to the other woman’s warm cheek.

    “I don’t know… some things just happen and there’s nothing we can do about that… I don’t know what happened between you two, you must’ve been close…” The huge woman started shaking as she pulled Pearl closer to her. “I’m sorry I don’t know what else to say… if I had known I would’ve stayed quiet…” She was surprised when Pearl shook her head, still tearing up.

    “It… It’s okay, you couldn’t have known…” She was silenced by Jasper pressing a gently kiss onto her slim, chapped lips and she felt the warmth return to her body, still limp from shock. Pearl buried her face in Jasper’s muscular neck, exhaling sharply and closing her eyes.

    “I’m sorry you had to see this Jasper… me and Rose we had been… very close to say the least. But I don’t want you to think I don’t love you, I do. I am over her, it was just a shock… I didn’t even get the chance to apologise to her…” Jasper responded by planting another kiss on the frail woman’s forehead.

    “It’s okay and what do you mean with apologise?”

  Pearl shook her head before answering her question meekly. “Me and Rose… we used to be in a long distance relationship before, since she lived in the US. About a year in our relationship, her class had an exchange trip with a class at the school I was visiting. But it was when she was over, she broke the news to me…” Tears were flowing out of her glassy eyes at this point.

    “She had been together for months with Greg at that point… to think she came over just to break that to me, I didn’t want it to be true. I was young and naive, so me and Greg started competing for her… but she made her choice the day she told me she was pregnant. We all were young and stupid, so I snapped at her and Greg, telling her I never wanted to see her again…” Pearl curled in on herself as Jasper rubbed gentle circles on her back. All the hate she had had against Greg was dissipated, there was no point to her rage anymore.

    “I realised about a year ago, when I emigrated… that I wanted to apologise and wished her the best of luck… I guess it had already been to late,” she sobbed the last part as she forced her eyes shut, her tears pouring down her face. Jasper was surprised when a sad smile formed on the crying woman’s facade. “At least Greg seems to be taking good care of her son… Though it is probably too late to patch up the rift between us…”

    “Don’t say that Pearl… I’m sure Greg is willing to talk to you, when you fell asleep he seemed very concerned about you in fact.” Jasper slowly raised the strawberry blonde’s chin, so she looked into her warm hazelnut eyes. “I’m sure we can find a way for you two to bury your quarrel.”

  Pearl nodded and the two looked intensely into each other’s eyes and Pearl didn’t even notice that she was closing the distance between them, pressing her lips onto Jasper’s, coyly. The huge woman gently stroke over her back, her eyes fluttering shut at the sensation of Jasper’s warm hand between her shoulders; massaging her tense muscles. Being with Jasper made her temporarily forget about the shock, as the two kissed intently.


	8. Missing

  Jasper held her close, every time she broke down, often at night when her thoughts got to her. But she would not leave her side, no matter how often she found her weeping in the bed. The large woman understood that she was trying to adjust herself again and work through her grief. It would still take Pearl a few days to recover.

  Jasper didn’t take her eyes of her these days, thankfully Ludwig was okay with her staying at home, he understood once she had told him what happened, voicing his condolences.

  The large woman settled down next to the frail figure sitting on the bed, carefully laying an arm around her shaking figure. “I made you some soup,” she smiled at her partner, gently handing her the bowl. Pearl took it hesitantly and took a small sip of the chicken soup, before shovelling more into her mouth, which made Jasper chuckle, having known that Pearl had barely eaten anything that day.

  They sat in comfortable silence, as Pearl wolfed down her food, sometimes being reminded to take it slower by Jasper, so it wouldn’t go down the wrong pipe. Pearl was thankful for the gesture, having almost choked on a sip once. After she ate her fill she sighed and leaned against Jasper, who still had her arm around her. She slowly stroked her back and Pearl closed her eyes, enjoying the comfort.

  It was Pearl who broke the mutual silence. “I… I’m sorry you have to deal with this,” she muttered as she averted her eyes. But Jasper just shook her head as she turned the smaller woman around to face her. “It’s okay Pearl… we all have some things that happened in the past that we’d rather not revisit. I have a fair share of things I’d rather forget myself.”

  Pearl fell quiet as she pressed herself against Jasper’s muscular body, melting into its warmth, closing her eyes. “I’m there Pearl, you can talk to me about things and I will listen. I am there for you.” The frail woman nodded, picking up Jasper’s hand, intertwining their fingers gently. Her thin digits fit perfectly in between the large woman's thick ones like they were meant to be together, like a puzzle piece. The large hand was warm and surprisingly soft against Pearl’s gentle but ice cold ones.

  She slowly raised her head, the corners of her mouth pulling up into a coy smile she threw at Jasper who smiled back at her, her eyes half closed as she leaned down. Pearl felt the gentle breeze of her partners breathing as their lips were pressed onto each other. They broke apart and she nuzzled into the crook of Jasper’s neck, whispering.

    “I was just scared you’d think I didn’t love you… I love you very much Jasper and you are my girlfriend, not Rose.” Jasper nodded thoughtfully. While she had understood the first time when Pearl told her that she had moved on, she had still been unsure whether she had been truthful. But she was sure now and it had been understandable that Pearl had been upset despite having moved on.

  After all, they had seemed to be very close beforehand, but this didn’t help the anger Jasper had at the deceased woman for causing Pearl so much trouble. Though Jasper wondered if it even mattered in the end, the mess was there and it was Pearl and Greg who had to deal with it now. Her rage would only cause more problems between the two. Jasper just hoped that Pearl understood, not to blame Greg for what happened.

  If possible, she wanted to get the two to get along alright, not wanting there to be tension on the both of them after this and not wanting to stand in the middle of an argument. But Pearl seemed to have already given up on that thought; at least for the time being. Jasper looked down that the woman in her arms, who had fallen asleep while she had been thinking, probably from a soup induced food coma. Jasper stayed there for a bit, not wanting to wake her up, before gently placing her on the bed, pulling the blanket over the others freckled shoulders. As Jasper went to clean the dishes, she was still lost in thought staring out the window dreamily.

 

* * *

 

  As more days went by, Pearl slowly started to catch herself, coming to terms with her loss. She had been incredibly thankful for Jasper, who looked after her and manage to get her out of bed. Pearl had been in a lot of thought the past few days, trying to encourage herself to go out and actually be active again, considering she had been moping in bed all this time.

  Earlier that day she had finally found the energy to go to the flowers shop together with Jasper. Being surrounded by plants gave her newfound energy, as she bundled up flowers after flowers. She made sure to stay away from Roses, which Jasper took over, not only because of Pearl’s feelings but also because the huge woman was scared her girlfriend was gonna accidentally stab herself in the fingers.

  They worked in silence with each other until Ludwig’s brother showed up and started loudly chatting with Jasper. Pearl had still been a bit nervous around him since his abrasiveness was a bit too much for her at first, but over the day she had gotten used to him, even gotten to talk with him without stuttering the entire time. Jasper hadn’t been wrong when she said that he wouldn’t hit on her again, now that he knew that she was Jasper’s partner and he had been told off once.

  Instead, he seemed a lot more cautious around her and she didn’t know whether this was, because of Jasper’s presence, or if Ludwig had told him about what happened. But his tiptoeing around subjects didn’t go unnoticed by Pearl, not that it bothered her.

  Now that they had finished, Jasper and Pearl were sitting at home, eating dinner. Pearl loved Jasper’s cooking, not only because she herself couldn’t cook, but also because the strong woman seemed to have a natural talent for cooking. The different dishes also helped her forget about home; a memory which still lingered in the back of her mind. She was taking another bite, listening to Jasper talk about cooking, when the phone started to ring loudly.

  The huge woman let out an equally large sigh as she stood up and grabbed the phone of the stand. Pearl watched, slowly putting down her fork as Jasper’s face cycled from annoyance to shock and then to worry. “What do you mean he ran away?... Of course, we’re gonna look for him he can’t be far.”

  She hung up and turned to Pearl her brows furrowed. “It’s Steven… he apparently ran away.” Pearl’s eyes widened in shock. When she had seen the small boy for the first time, he had immediately grown on her. “They don’t live far away and he can’t be far.” Pearl just nodded as she bolted out of her seat and put on her jacket and shoes. It wasn’t long until they were already sitting in the car driving to Greg’s house.

  It had been a surprisingly cold night as they split up looking on foot for the small child. While Jasper had been looking in the side streets of the quiet neighbourhood Greg and his son lived in, Pearl had branched off into the nearby park. Pearl could feel herself shaking as she sprinted through the dark. While she was sure there was no one else there, Pearl still felt extremely exposed and worried that she was gonna get found by someone, she’d rather not be found by. But her worry kept pushing her forward and it proved successful as she looked past treeline and spotted a small figure tumbling through the darkness; lost and scared.

    “Steven”, she yelled out and the small figure turned around and stumbled towards her as fast as his tiny legs could carry him. The frail woman sprinted towards the boy kneeling down in front of him. She wrapped her arms around the child who she could tell had been crying, by her jacked getting soaked. Pearl held onto him for a good minute before gently pulling him away.

    “What were you thinking?! You could’ve gotten hurt, you could’ve gotten lost, Steven. For all, we know you could’ve fallen into a river or gotten kidnapped!”, she scolded the boy who was looking down at his feet. But Pearl wasn’t angry with him, she was just scared. While she barely knew the child, she had grown attached to him almost immediately and also it felt like her duty to protect him.

  The child rubbed away some of his tears with his small chubby hand before stuttering. “I-I was worried. You seemed so u-upset in the grocery store and I wanted to visit you and Jasper. I-I’m sorry.” He whined as he hugged her again and Pearl just wrapped her arms around his tiny body, protectively. She felt a sting of guilt in her stomach. Pearl didn’t want to worry this small child and she couldn’t really tell him why she had been feeling the way she did.

  She was pulled out of thoughts and her head snapped up when she heard footsteps come closer and when she turned around, she was relieved that it was just Jasper rocketing towards her. Greg was behind her desperately trying to keep up but panting exhaustedly. When Steven saw his father he yelled out to him and let go of Pearl, running over into his arms. Greg picked him and pulled him into his shoulder.

    “You gave us all a heart attack Schtuball! Are you okay, you didn’t get hurt anything did you?” Steven just shook his head and threw his arms around his father's neck, exhausted. Jasper walked up next to Pearl, putting a hand on her back and it was now Pearl noticed that she was still shivering.

  As they walked back to the car, they said goodbye to the father and his son and Pearl even felt herself smiling. When they parted, she suddenly felt something heavy draped over her shoulders and when she looked up, she saw Jasper smiling at her. “You seemed to be cold, so have my jacket for now.”

  Pearl gently held onto the oversized jacket pulling it tighter around herself as she closed her eyes. “Thank you.” She leaned slightly against her partner as they continued making their way to the car.

    “You sounded like a mom”, Jasper joked and Pearl looked up at her flustered.

    “No, I didn’t!”

    “Yes you did, you were all worried about that child. Not that I blame you though. Though it was very adorable.”

  Pearl could feel her face burning and she stood still for a second and Jasper halted with her, looking at her smirking. She let out a yelp when Pearl jabbed her in the side playfully followed by loud laughing and some old man yelling at them from his window to shut up.


	9. Truth or Dare

  Working in the flowery had been a lot of joy for her and at this point, Ludwig had just kind of employed her into the job and started paying her. At least part-time. In return, the job helped Pearl get more used to interacting with and being under people again, though she still very much preferred to work in the greenhouse in the back. Jasper often walked in the back to check on her, but she still had things to do on the counter, so she was mostly alone.

  But Pearl didn’t mind, for it gave her time on her own and the bundling of flowers felt surprisingly therapeutic for her, as she liked putting together nice matching colour and flower combinations. Both Jasper and Ludwig had already commented on her having a talent for colour combination and arranging aesthetic flower bouquets. Pearl had always wanted to do something with art, but art didn’t pay in the eyes of her parents, so she had never picked up on anything in that direction.

  They had always just made her learn things she wasn’t particularly interested in, especially ballet. Pearl had been good at dancing, but at the same time, she hadn’t been a big fan of the strictness it held. And the bruising her feet had from trying to stand on the bloodied tips of her toes. She was pretty sure her toes would never feel quite the same again.

  She snapped out of it when she heard loud laughing out in the front. Curiousity awakened, Pearl walked through the door, seeing Jasper who was chatting with Amethyst about something. When the small woman spotted her in the doorway she shot her a grin and a peace sign.

    “Yo P, how’re you holding up?”

  While Pearl stiffened at the nickname Jasper’s cousin just gave her, she answered smiling. “I’m doing a lot better.”

    “That’s good to hear! Yo me and Jasper were just talking about my upcoming birthday and I wanted to invite you two!”

    “That’d be very nice!”, Pearl replied and Jasper chuckled warmly as she put an arm around her partner. Amethyst gave them finger guns before exiting the shop as the two continued their day.

 

* * *

 

  They were getting ready for the party and Jasper was currently putting on her jeans, when her eyes fell on Pearl, who looked tense. She frowned a bit as the other woman brushed her short hair and when she finished, she put a calming hand on her shoulder. Pearl looked at her, eyes wide and she smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, it probably won’t be too many people there”

    “I know, it’s just…”, she averted her eyes flushing. “I have never been to a party like this…”

  Jasper gently kneaded her shoulder. “It’s alright, don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’ll be okay. If it gets too much, we can always go for a walk or leave if it’s really too much.” This seemed to have calmed down Pearl, who wrapped her arms around Jasper in a hug, which was quickly returned.

    “Now let’s get going!”

  Opening the door they were greeted by Amethyst and loud blasting music, which made Pearl flinch initially, but as they entered the dimly lit room, she quickly adjusted to the change. Jasper hadn’t been wrong when she said there wasn’t going to be more people since the only people who sat sprawled out on the couches were Garnet, Peridot and a girl Pearl had never seen before.

  She interlocked eyes with the stranger for a good few seconds before averting her eyes awkwardly. Pearl assumed this was the girlfriend Peridot had been talking about, considering that the girl with the large glasses was currently lying in her lap tapping on her phone before finally looking up and greeting the two. They settled down across from them and Pearl was thankful for Jasper’s heavy arm draped over her shoulders to comfort her.

  Peridot must’ve noticed her looking at the girl she was currently using as a seat since she jolted into a sitting position followed by a disgruntled huff from her girlfriend, who clearly didn’t expect the sudden movement.

    “Oh! By the way, this is Lapis, Lapis this is Pearl she gave me flowers for you the other day. Pearl, you remember when I told you about her, she’s the one that has so many reptiles at home!”

    “Oh yeah, I remember! Nice to meet you.”

    “Hello… nice to meet you too…”, the woman with dyed blue hair muttered, finally looking away from Pearl and despite sounding bored, Pearl could feel some of the tension in the air dissipate. Peridot frowned a bit at her girlfriend before turning to Pearl.

    “Don’t worry, Lapis is never the one to talk much.”

    “Well sorry that I don’t run my mouth like you do.”

    “You know you love me!”

  Lapis seemed like she had been about to protest before Peridot had pulled her down into a kiss. Pearl looked away awkwardly, looking at Garnet who was having a conversation with Jasper and Amethyst. The frail woman had been about to ask what they were talking about when Amethyst answered her question, if indirectly.

 

    “ALRIGHTY, we’re gonna play Truth or Dare! But first Imma get some beer and a bottle!”, the short woman exclaimed as she leapt off her seat and practically ran into the basement. It was only a few minutes that passed before everyone had settled down on the ground.

  When offering the beer, Pearl hesitated for a second. “I’ve never tried beer before…” She shuddered a bit at the looks she was getting as if she was some kind of alien.

    “Well, you could try one if you want. J sure as hell ain’t gonna drink one since she needs to drive. It’s cool if you don’t wanna though.”

  Pearl frowned a bit and took the bottle out of Amethyst’s hand and daringly took a large gulp, followed by loud ‘yooo’s. She didn’t know whether the confidence had stemmed from her previously only drinking hard liquor or if she wanted to impress Jasper.

  Either way, it seemed to fail as she started to cough and Jasper patted her back laughing as she could feel her face growing red. She set down the bottle heaving, Jasper gently rubbed her back. “Hey, you okay there?”

    “Yo dude that was cool, didn’t expect you to try and ex the bottle!”

  Pearl looked at her a bit in confusement before leaning back against Jasper’s shoulder. They continued on as Amethyst spun the bottle which landed on Peridot, who barely noticed since she was busy on her phone.

    “Yo Peri, Truth or Dare?”

    “What?- oh damn it, Truth.”

    “Damn you always take truth but fine. hhhhm… what’s the most embarrassing thing that happened to you this month.”

    “Oh god…”

  Pearl couldn’t hold back a giggle and Jasper was thankful since it had probably been the most adorable thing she had ever seen. But Pearl quickly stopped herself as she was caught off guard by Lapis’ loud snort as she clearly knew what kind of story Peridot was about to tell.

    “Well… I was with Lapis and she gave me one of her large bullsnakes and told me to handle it… and it just…”

    “It musked all over her.”

    “Lapis! It wasn’t that funny!”

    “Dude that sounds hilarious!”

    “I know, I even told her to be careful with it!”

  While Jasper, Amethyst and Lapis were cackling like mad, Pearl let out a small laugh and she even saw Garnet chuckling to herself all while Peridot sat there, face flushed.

    “A-anyways! My turn now”

    “Alrighty, snake bender!”

  Peridot shot Amethyst a glare, before snatching the bottle and spinning it in the middle of the circle. It landed on Garnet, who was relatively unfazed if Pearl was to judge her expression under her glasses.

    “Ha! Truth or Dare!”

    “Dare.”

  Peridot seemed to have been caught off guard by that answer as she fidgeted with her fingers as she tried to think of a dare that was fitting. She jolted up when she got an idea, snipping her fingers.

    “Alright Wickie, what’s the idea”

    “Haha, shut up Amethyst! Garnet, I dare you to chug that bottle of beer as Pearl did. But like completely!”

    “You know I’m the chugging champion”, Garnet replied in a serious tone of voice, before grabbing the bottle of beer and downing it within seconds, while everyone was chanting at her. Pearl flinched a little when Garnet slammed the empty bottle on the floor, followed by Jasper and Amethyst howling loudly and Peridots defeated sigh. And despite the volume, Pearl felt right at home, wrapped in Jasper’s strong arm.

 

  She took another sip from her beer bottle and the bitter drink didn’t seem to singe her taste buds as much anymore. Pearl knew that she probably should’ve started with low percentage drinks like this instead of leaping in with the hard liquor, considering she was a notorious lightweight and was starting to feel the warmth coursing through her body as she felt a little tipsy.

  A couple of rounds later, the tip of the bottle landed on Jasper, who grinned boastingly. “Truth or Dare!”

    “Dare!”

    “hhhm, how about ya give your girlfriend a kiss!”

    “Come on, that’s barely even a dare!”, Peridot exclaimed, her face flushed from the alcohol. “Like where’s the daring part!?”

    “Oh shut up Peri-”, but Amethyst was already interrupted by Lapis, who had brought her face really close so that her nose was almost touching Peridots glasses, muttering something so quietly, that only the girl in her lap could understand her.

 Before pearl saw the two move together, a hand under chin gently moved her gaze to Jasper, who was widely grinning at her, and she couldn’t tell if the warmth in her stomach just came from the bit of alcohol she had drunk. Though by now she felt like she was just getting drunk of her partner’s atmosphere.

  Before Jasper could do anything, Pearl had leaned in and closed the gap between the two. Jasper’s soft lips never failed to amaze her with how soft and voluptuous they were, compared to her thin and chapped ones. Suddenly she felt incredibly exposed and anxious, but that feeling was quickly eased off, as Jasper moved her large hand to cup Pearl’s cheek.

  When Jasper nipped her lower lip gently, she let out a sound moan, before pulling out of the kiss, self consciously. Pearl had already started sputtering out incomprehensible words before Jasper pulled her into a bear hug and she buried her face in the large one’s shoulder, wanting to sink into the ground out of shame. And Amethyst cackling did not help.

  She felt herself calm down though, as Jasper planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. Pearl was just taking in her girlfriend’s affection and it made her stomach flutter as she nuzzled Jasper’s chin, momentarily forgetting about where they were.

    “Yo J, you gonna spin the bottle or what?”

 

* * *

 

  The rest of the evening went quite calm and soon Jasper and Pearl were on the drive home. Pearl had sobered up quite a bit already, considering she only had half a bottle before being too afraid to continue drinking. She had felt quite guilty about leaving the bottle unfinished but Amethyst assured her, it was fine and seconds later had downed the bottle’s remaining contents.

  Now Pearl had semi-curled up on the bag seat as Jasper drove through the quiet streets and she had almost dozen of by the time they arrived home. The huge woman opened the back door quietly and before Pearl could raise from her seat, Jasper had already scooped her up into her arm… not without Pearl squeaking in surprise, followed by Jasper’s low chuckle.

  She yelped once again when Jasper draped her over her shoulder as she opened the front door and wandered into the empty house, quickly flicking on the light switch. She then brought Pearl back up, supporting her with an arm under her behind and one on her back. Pearl could feel the heat creep up on her face as Jasper grinned at her and she felt an unfamiliar sting of warmth shoot through her spine.

  Without a word, she pressed her mouth on Jasper’s, tangling her hand in the strong woman’s hair and clinging onto the back of her neck for support. Pearl shivered as Jasper, ever so gently, nipped at her bottom lip once again and she was bewildered as a low whimper crawled up her throat. Jasper must have heard since her chest vibrated with a chuckle as she continued the action, gaining oh so soft moans from the smaller woman in her arms.

  Though Jasper was a bit taken aback, when Pearl suddenly broke the kiss, face a bright red. “J-Jasper…”, she hushed gently, clearly out of breath. Jasper smiled at her gently and it made Pearl’s heart flutter like wild butterflies.

    “Yes?”

    “I-I… I wanna try… I’ve never…”

  Pearl muttered incoherently, but Jasper seemed to understand what she was trying to communicate as she gently put a hand to Pearl’s cheek, stroking gently over the many freckles there. Pearl’s eyes fluttered shut at the gentle touch and she practically melted into the embrace.

    “You mean you want to…”

    “Y-yes…”

  Jasper planted a soft kiss on her free cheek. “It’s okay if you wanna try, I’ll be careful with you. But I want you to know that, if any point you feel uncomfortable, you tell me immediately okay? No buts!” Pearl nodded as Jasper carried her into the bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, so here's a few notes about the next chapter and the following weeks, as a bit of a heads up.
> 
> First, about the next chapter.  
> The next chapter will include smut and I will change the rating to M. The smut is optional and does not contain any important information you would need to know, it's literally just there because character development and stuff so if you wanna skip it, feel free too. Because of this content, I will not be posting this chapter on Tumblr, but it will be released on Saturday like any other chapter, so feel free to either skip it, though if you wanna see it, just check next week on Saturday and it will most likely be there some time.
> 
> Secondly, about the next two-three weeks, there will be a little bit of a Hiatus, I am planning to attempt to write new chapters, but due to real life and stuff, a new chapter after next week will be a bit delayed. I will not cancel the fanfiction though since I am very determined to continue and complete it without too much of a Hiatus.
> 
> Thank you for reading this far!


	10. First Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This is the first smut I have ever uploaded, so please be patient with me.

  As Jasper walked into the bedroom and placed Pearl down unto the sheets, she could feel herself shuddering with anticipation, nervousity and many other feelings Pearl couldn’t quite place. Jasper must have noticed as she laid down next to Pearl and the first thing she did was hug her and gently pet her scalp. “You’re okay, darling?”

    “Y-yes… I’m just nervous I guess…”, she muttered as she pressed her face into the side of Jasper’s neck, who continued to thoughtfully thumble with her hair much to her delight. “Don’t worry, we’re gonna take it slowly since this is the first time you’ve done something like this. And again, if at any point you want to stop, tell me.” Pearl just nodded in return, as she really enjoyed just lying next to Jasper. But she also was quite excited and curious about what they were about to do.

  Pearl had absolutely no experience and the only bit she knew about sex, were what she learned in school. And that of course had only covered the heterosexual part of the topic. Also this was probably the only subject in school, she hadn’t paid too much attention too, since it obviously had been a very awkward topic for her back then. Jasper looked like she probably had more experience than her, but she wasn’t going to just ask her about it. Plus Pearl knew that the muscular woman would guide her.

  She was pulled out of her thoughts, when Jasper softly kissed her and she moved her hands into the platinum blonde hair. Jasper gently leaned over her, carefully placing her two hands next to Pearl, who clinged onto her. She once again started nipping at Pearl’s chapped lips, a soft taste of iron and a few soft pants filling her mouth. Jasper could feel the shiver that went through Pearl, as she moved to kiss her ear, followed by a surprisingly loud moan, which was interrupted by Pearl slapping a hand over her mouth.

    “It’s okay, you don’t need to be ashamed, it’s okay to make noise.”

  This seemed to calm the strawberry blonde and as she calmed down, Jasper continued her soft assault on Pearl’s ear. She then slowly moved down to Pearl’s thin neck, pressing kisses on the side, soft like feathers as to not disturb the smaller woman, who continued to moan below her. Her large paws moved with her mouth, stroking down Pearl’s back, rubbing gentle circles in the small of her back, which Pearl now noted, was feeling quite sore.

    “Pearl, is it okay if I take of your shirt?”, she whispered as she moved back up to Pearl’s shirt, who couldn’t help but only nod in response. Despite the mix of confusing and unfamiliar feelings and the steadily growing heat between her legs, she felt the want to urgently continue. Jasper gently removed her shirt, which she had bought the other day for Pearl since the pastel really suited her and the fabric was incredibly soft, just like she knew Pearl liked it.

  But the woman below her started shivering as soon as she had removed her shirt and Jasper couldn’t tell whether she was because of anxiousness or the cold. “Are you okay Pearl?”

    “C-cold!”, the frail woman mewled in response and Jasper was relieved. She moved atop of Pearl carefully, grabbing the blanket and pulling it over them quickly. Jasper then gently pressed herself against Pearl’s half naked body until she stopped shaking. Even though she hadn’t expected the soft nip at her own neck by Pearl’s surprisingly sharp teeth.

    “A-ah.”

    “Oh no… I’m sorry…”

    “No, no, don’t be! I was just surprised, is all!”, Jasper laughed carefree, before going back to planting kisses against Pearl’s neck and collarbone, followed by a small gasp. Pearl could feel a heat coursing through her body to her crotch as Jasper stroke over her stomach and hovered over Pearl’s bra, silently asking for permission. Pearl had never felt too comfortable with her tiny breasts, but she whimpered in response as her instincts told her that she wanted to be touched.

  Jasper’s hands went around her back to unhook the small, pastel bra, taking it off and moving it to the side, as she kneed on top of Pearl to get a better look. Pearl had her eyes closed until now, staring up at Jasper’s which glinted in the dim light of the bedside lamp. She suddenly felt very exposed and averted her gaze. What if Jasper didn’t like what she saw, what if she was disappointed, what if-

    “Wow… you’re gorgeous Pearl!”

  Of all the horrible things the pale woman had expected, this was not one of them. “B-but… t-they’re so small!”, she exclaimed bewildered.

    “Oh well, that doesn’t change the fact that they are absolutely beautiful. It isn’t about size and yours are absolutely perfect!”

  A low whimper escaped her throat and Pearl was ashamed at how needy she sounded. This was her first time doing this and she was already whining to continue. But Jasper understood, as her hand hovered over one of Pearl’s soft boobs, looking at her for permission and Pearl just swallowed nervously before nodding. Jasper’s hand ghosted over Pearl’s breast and the tingling feeling made her inhale sharply. Her girlfriend paused before moving over her breast once again.

  “You’re so sensitive”, Jasper whispered and the warm smile she gave Pearl, made pale woman want to cry. now Jasper’s fingers were gently caressing her nipple, carefully rolling it between them and Pearl failed to suppress another boneshaking moan. But when Jasper moved a hand over the small of her back, she gasped and she was shocked as her body arched up. “J-jasper!”, she whined at the touch, slowly craving more of it.

  Jasper made a mental note of all of Pearl’s most sensitive spots and they weren’t hard to find by the way her body reacted whenever she merely grazed over one of them. But she took her time as not to overstimulate the poor woman below her, who was currently squirming for more. Moving forward, her hand slided to Pearl’s Waist and gently tugging at the rim of her pants. “May I?”

  Pearl nodded at her, eyes wide with want and Jasper gently pulled off Pearl’s pants. Whimpering, Pearl closed her eyes as Jasper’s hand caressed her abdomen, while her mouth moved back to kissing her lips and neck. As her hands started to move down Pearl’s thigh, she couldn’t help but marvel at how soft her skin was. she knew already, from the times they hugged, kissed and touched; but now it was a whole different sensation.

  She paused as Pearl bucked her hips up, letting out a throaty whine, yet she had crossed her legs, preventing Jasper from further access. “Darling, could you spread your legs out a little? otherwise I can’t really help you.” Pearl listened as she put both her legs to the side, granting Jasper a bit more access who now gently caressed the inside of her thighs. Her stomach felt like it was boiling as she whimpered and rolled her hips once more, searching for some kind of friction.

  And Jasper didn’t want to tease her anymore, she could see that Pearl had already soaked her soft blue panties. Though she didn’t quite want to take them off yet, considering Pearl would’ve felt maybe to exposed. Instead, she gently stroke a finger along the other’s covered clit, which probably caused the loudest cry out that night. Jasper waited a second for Pearl to collect herself, the other woman's eyes had fluttered open and she was looking hazily at her lover.

  Whatever the feeling was that Pearl had just experienced, she wanted to feel it again. Whatever it had been, her fear was widely outweighed by the pleasure that had just bled through her body. She had tried to masturbate before, but she had usually stopped before reaching anything, because she had been too afraid of what would happen after those bursts of pleasure. But now it felt like all the inhibitions she have had were gone. Without a word she tried to squirm out of her underpants and Jasper had gotten the message, gently pulling them down.

    “Wow”, Jasper muttered, as her hands went through the soft bush of pubic her and if Pearl’s desperate whine was any indication, she knew she could continue on. The huge woman gently parted Pearl’s folds and she flushed, because she could feel her partners nervous gaze observing her. “Beautiful.”

  Jasper slowly gave the sides of Pearl’s vagina an experimental stroke and the frail woman couldn’t help but buck up against Jasper’ hands. She then applied some fluttering strokes to Pearl’s core and the woman under her gasped in delight and Jasper carefully applied more pressure to the area. She the pushed a little into Pearl, but this time, she got a bit of a negative response, as Pearl clenched up and froze a bit. “N-not yet...”

  Jasper nodded in understanding as she withdrew her fingers for a second and pressed apologetic kisses against Pearl’s cheek, slowly moving back to stimulating her clit which seemed to get a lot more pleasure out of her. She soon felt the woman under her starting to become undone as her breathing started to grow erratic and she continuously rolled into Jasper’s hand and screaming an incoherent mess of different languages.

  It was when her climax washed over Pearl, she felt the need of something to be shoved inside of her. Her body was burning and she didn’t know how she managed to yelp out to Jasper what she wanted, when a finger followed shortly by a second one buried inside of her, stroking in and out against her top inner wall hitting her sweet spot. She didn’t know whether she was being incredibly loud or completely silent, as her orgasm coursed through her.

  When she had finally rode it out and Jasper let her cool down from her high, she could feel a small pain aching from between her legs and her abdomen, despite her feeling very content. She couldn’t help but let out a soft, pained whine and it didn’t escape Jasper who immediately grew worried. “Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you or anything did I?”

    “N-no… Just exhausted…”, Pearl muttered.

    “Yeah, you did go surprisingly wild for your first time. Maybe you over exhausted yourself a bit.” Jasper let herself down next to Pearl, wrapping her arms around her tiny frame and cradling her close. “Did you enjoy it?”

    “Oh yes…”, Pearl sighed as she nuzzled into Jasper’s collarbone, feeling the pain subsiding and being replaced with utter content as she curled up next to her lover’s warm body, starting to drift off. “Thanks you… I love you…”

    “I’m glad you enjoyed it, I love you too Pearl…”


	11. Found

  Pearl watched the water drain down as she stepped out of the shower, drying off with a soft towel. Jasper had already gone back to work, after eating breakfast with her. This left the strawberry blonde at home with nothing to do. But it didn’t bother Pearl too much, as she spent the morning by cleaning the house.

  The action had a surprisingly positive effect on her, as the menial task relaxed her. Though Pearl soon ran out of things to clean and tidy and she found herself sitting on the couch and scrolling through TV channels, there was nothing on she wanted to watch. With a deep sigh, she sunk back into the pillows, kneading the bridge of her nose as boredom ate away at her.

  Pearl would’ve read a book, but most of the books that Jasper owned were not to her taste. Maybe there was a library nearby, she thought to herself as she pulled out Jasper’s laptop, booting it up. Through her search she found out about a library just down the road she could head to. Pearl got out the money, Jasper had left for her to spend and after putting on her shoes, she made her way towards the library.

  As she entered the library, the silence in the building immediately became apparent. Pearl shuddered a bit as she made her way to the front desk, amazed by the number of books on the shelves, some of them dusty and old, while others appeared a lot newer. She stopped in front of the desk, which wasn’t occupied by a librarian like she would’ve expected. Looking around, she tried to look for the librarian as suddenly, there were some rumbling in the back of the storage room behind the counter, followed by a hushed curse.

  A scrawny woman with large glasses pushed herself out of the door and Pearl shrunk away at the scowl she gave her. “Y-you could’ve just rung the bell, well what do you need?” Pearl shuddered as she tried to find her words.

    “I wanted to ask if you can lend books here without a membership…”

    “O-of course! What kind of library wouldn’t allow that! It will cost a fee though and you better return it!” The librarian hissed the last part and Pearl didn’t know whether to feel attacked or not. With that, she made her way through the bookshelves, trying to find a book that would suit her tastes. As she walked past the romance section, she spotted a novel which piqued her interest.

  Pearl hadn’t been too much of a romance novel fan, she definitely preferred books with a bit more plot, but this book seemed to have a good story as well. Picking up the book she headed to back to the counter, this time ringing the bell to call out the librarian. This didn’t appear to be any better, as there were a muffled crashing sound and the librarian rushed out of the room to her.

  When she saw the book that Pearl had picked out, her scowl disappeared a little as a flush spread on her cheeks. “‘So lingers the ocean’... Are you sure you want to l-lend this book?”, she huffed and Pearl nodded in confusion, but the librarian had already taken the book and scanned it in, handing it back to her. After giving her the money, she made her way back into the library, figuring she could still look around a little bit more, maybe finding a book she could lend the next time.

  Pearl tensed up as she felt a shiver creep up her back, as if something was wrong. She looked around nervously making her way towards the back of the library, feeling the cool air creep into the nape of her neck. A hand clamped down on her arm and she yelped, spinning around pulling it free.

  Her heart froze as she looked up at man who was towering over her a good head or two, staring down with her, the expression on his face changing to a knowing smile.

the 

* * *

_     “No!” _

_     “You will need to stop with this nonsense! What you are doing is wrong and I’m sure he’ll be able to change your mind!” _

_     “No, I don’t like him!” _

_     “Look, he’s a sweet man and kind, I’m sure he’ll be able to change your opinion, just give him a chance.” _

_     “NO! I am not interested mom, I don’t need some dude to be with me, he won’t change how I feel and I will not be forced to be with someone I don’t want!” _

 

* * *

 

    “I finally found you Pearl! Your family has been worried sick about you!”

  The man's smile made Pearl want to throw up, and she probably would have, if she wasn’t just confronted with someone who wanted to drag her home. Despite her shaking body, she built herself up in front of him as much as she could. “I am NOT going back, Ivan. My life is here now and I never want to see them again!”, she snapped, her voice quivering.

  The man looked a bit dumbfounded before frowning at her and huffing. “Pearl, you can’t just run away like that, now be reasonable!” But the frail woman only gritted her teeth, having had enough of everyone trying to force her to move back. Her home was with Jasper now, where she could feel safe.

    “No. I refuse. I will not let myself be forced to be someone who I am not.” Her resolve shrunk as Ivan stared down at her, his eyes full of frustration at her defiant behaviour. Pearl took a step back, trying to get some distance between her and him, as he towered over her.

    “You will come back, Pearl. You can not stay here, your parents want you back,” he growled loudly as he grabbed her arm yanking her forward. Pearl shrieked and tried to pull herself free.

    “Hey! If you came into this library to harass people, you can leave!”

  Ivan let go of her arm as the librarian made her way over, shivering with anxiety but a determination on her face. The tall man huffed and send a glare back at Pearl, making her shrink in fear. “You’ll come back sooner or later.”

  With that he stomped off, leaving a shaking Pearl behind, who was ready to just break down. She followed the librarian to the front desk, settling down a bit as the librarian looked at her with an awkward silence between them. “... I-is there anyone you wanna call to pick you up?”, the librarian questioned her, averting her gaze, not knowing what to do.

  Pearl nodded and asked her whether she could use the phone to call Jasper, who seemed quite nervous on the line and said she’d immediately make her way over to her. As she set the phone back down, she leaned back in the chair the other had brought her.

    “W-who the hell was that if you don’t mind me asking. I mean, you do seem like the kind that would attract creeps like that…” Pearl would’ve been insulted by the comment, but she was too tired and exhausted to complain.

    “J-just… someone I knew back from home…”

  She was thankful that the librarian did not ask anymore questions and just frowned as she made her way back into the storage room. After about a quarter of an hour, Jasper pushed her way through the door and rushed to her and she felt her nervous sweat, as muscular arms wrapped around her, pulling her close.

    “What happened?!”

    “I… I’ll tell you once we get home…”

 

  After bidding the librarian goodbye, they quickly made their way back home, Pearl looking around nervously ever so often, trying to make sure they weren’t being followed by Ivan, who would surely be looking for her. After they finally arrived home, she sank into the living room couch with a deep sigh as Jasper settled down next to her with two cups of tea.

  It was then Pearl gave a synopsis of what had happened, leaning against Jasper who cradled her close and she felt the large woman grow tense. “Who the hell was he…”, she huffed with a frown and Pearl could tell, she was ready to snap someone's neck. But she wasn’t scared by Jasper’s face and just cuddled closer, searching for shelter.

    “When my parents found out I’m gay, they tried everything in their way to change that. They send me to search and they tried to get me interested in guys. It started with just a few hints on the street, nudging me in the direction of some dude they thought I might like. It all escalated shortly before I left, as they forcefully wanted me to hang out with this dude, Ivan. They thought since he was nice and stuff I would fall for him… and he was nice… but I guess since I just left without anyone knowing, he got frustrated so now he wants to drag me back to my parents…”

  Pearl sniffled a bit, clenching her burning eyes shut. “I don’t want to go back, Jasper… I don’t want to be forced to go back…” She wrapped her arm around the large woman, burying her face in Jasper’s shoulder, whose hand was rubbing small circles into her back, comforting.

    “I won’t let them take you back, don’t worry about that… They’ll never lay a hand on you…”, Jasper rumbled as she pressed a kiss onto her forehead. “I’ll never let them force you.”

    “Thank you, Jasper… I love you…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got around to updating it. Now I am a bit rusty and I have a lot of chapters to catch up, so please bear with me! I still hope you enjoyed this chapter.


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